Feyisa Lelisa, 2018 Bogata Half Marathon, photo by PhotoRun.net
A thought from RunBlogRun: Feyisa Lelisa is one of my heroes. He should be one of yours. A member of the Oromo, an ethnic minority in Ethiopia, Lelisa endangered himself and his family, by signaling his support for the Oromo in Rio, in front of a world audience. Lelisa is living in U.S., with his family. Now, he may be able to go home. How many of us have had to leave for homes because of concerns on safety of ourselves and our family?
ADDIS ABABA (ETH): AFP informs that in an open letter, Ethiopia has asked marathon runner Feyisa Lilesa, silver medalist at the 2016 Olympic Games and in exile in the United States, to return to his country But since April, and for the first time in the history of Ethiopia, the prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, is an Oromo. Since coming to power, he has taken many steps to try to ease ethnic tensions that have lasted for many years. Abiy Ahmed had already proposed to Fiyesa Lilesa to return to Ethiopia. On Tuesday, it was the Olympic Committee and the Athletics Federation who co-signed an open letter asking the marathoner to resume his career in and for his country.
Feyisa Lelisa, Rio 2016 Olympics, photo by PhotoRun.net
