Ethiopia’s Berihu Aregawi targets World Cross Country gold before Paris 2024 Olympics
The world cross country silver medallist leads the Ethiopian team of 28 that will compete in Belgrade on 30 March.
For the last six years, Berihu Aregawi has been waking up every day with a mission: to win a gold medal at the Olympics or World Championships.
He has managed to establish himself as one of the latest to come through the ranks of Ethiopia’s running dynasty and reach the elite.
But until last year, he had never left a global track and field athletics event totally satisfied. That was until he won silver at the World Cross Country Championships, Ethiopia’s best showing in the men’s senior race in 10 years.
And as he prepares for a return to the cross course in Belgrade on Saturday (30 March), Aregawi knows it will take winning the world title to forge a place in the annals of his country’s long-distance running.
“My biggest goals for the 2024 season are to compete at the World Cross Country Championships and at the Olympic Games,” he told World Athletics.
“I am aiming for gold medals. I believe I can achieve them.”
The World silver medallist is in great shape. He ended his season with a commanding performance at the San Silverstre Vallecana 5km in Madrid, before topping the podium at the Cross Internacional Juan Muguerza meeting in Elgoibar in January, big motivations going into this weekend.
Berihu Aregawi eyes world title in Belgrade
When the young Aregawi started running in his small town of Atsbi Womberta, in the Northern Ethiopian part of Tigray, he dreamt of becoming a champion.
Like many Ethiopian youngsters, he was inspired to carve a career in long-distance and road running by learning about the great Haile Gebrselassie and Kenenisa Bekele.
Aregawi's breakthrough triumphs came in 2018, when he captured the 3000m gold at the African Youth Games, added silver at the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games and the 10,000m bronze at the World U20 championship.
Winning the 2019 Great Ethiopian 10km run in a near course record gave him confidence stepping into the senior ranks.
Over the last three years, the 23-year-old has come agonisingly close to winning a medal at his debut Olympics, with his fourth place in Tokyo, and missed out on maiden World Championship medals in Oregon and Budapest.
Breaking the 5km world record on the road in 2021 remains a career highlight but the silver medal in Bathurst last year behind Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo fortified his ambitions of being one of the best.
“All of my races have been very interesting, useful, valuable and important. I won a silver medal at the [2023] World Cross and earned three gold medals and one bronze at the National Cross Country,” he said.
“The course was difficult, but in the end I won the silver medal and I was really happy about that.”
This season, Aregawi has other priorities, that even kept him away from the indoor season - the outdoor race gold medals in Belgrade and at the Paris Olympics.
“I expect to achieve a good result and finish the race on the podium. I am coming to Belgrade to do my best.”
His nation has not won the men's title since Gebre-egziabher Gebremariam in 2009.
Of the 28 athletes Ethiopia is sending to the World Cross Country Championships, he’s one of the most experienced runners and favourites for gold. He has been training with his coach Lirefu Birhanu in Addis Ababa and believes he's able to capture his best form.