Refugee athlete Dominic Lobalu falls desperately short of winning Olympic medal in men’s 5,000m
A few hundredths of a second separated refugee runner Dominic Lokinyomo Lobalu from a place on the podium in the men’s 5,000m final at Paris 2024 on Saturday (10 August).
Lobalu finished in fourth place which could easily have been a medal. Each time the big guns went, Lobalu went with them. At one point Lobalu was even leading the charge emphasising his fighting spirit.
At the bell, Lobalu was in hot pursuit of the race leaders delivering a brave final lap run moving from seventh position to get within a whisker of winning a medal.
With 100 metres to go, Lobalu was embroiled in a five-way battle for silver and bronze as Norwegian star Jakob Ingebrigtsen pulled ahead to claim the Olympic gold medal.
As Lobalu edged closer to the line he moved into third position before Grant Fisher of the US snatched the bronze from his grasp in a time of 13:15.13. Lobalu followed in fourth with a time of 13:15.27.
Born in South Sudan, Lobalu lost both his parents in an attack on his village in 2007, before he fled to Kenya as a nine-year-old where he found refuge at the Kakuma Refugee Camp.
His running talents would ultimately lead him to the World Relays and World Championships in 2017 where he represented the World Athletics Refugee Team.
Lobalu eventually sought asylum in Switzerland in 2019 where he has been training since and winning medals for his host country. The distance running star won the 10,000m and bronze in the 5,000m at the 2024 European Championships before he was named to the IOC Refugee Olympic Team in June 2024.