Omar Abdi will represent his native Somalia in 2013 IAAF World Track & Field in Moscow.

UMass Lowell’s Abdi Qualifies for IAAF Championship
Omar Abdi, a resident of Roxbury, Mass. a graduate of Charlestown H.S., will represent his native Somalia in two events at the 2013 IAAF World Track & Field Championship from Aug. 10-18 in Moscow.

Abdi, who recently completed his senior season at UMass Lowell (he will be a fifth-year senior in 2013-14), will compete in the 1,500 meters and the 800 meters. He is the third UMass Lowell distance runner to qualify for a world class competition in four years, joining Ruben Sanca ’10, who ran the 5,000 meters at the London 2012 Olympic Games; and Nate Jenkins ’04, who competed in the marathon at the 2009 IAAF Championship in Berlin.

Abdi was scheduled to compete in the World University Games July 6-17 in Kazan, Russia, but received word from the Somalia Athletics Federation he would be Somalia’s choice for the IAAF World Championships. He qualified through the IAAF’s ‘wild card’ system, in which certain countries can select one male and one female athlete to compete in a major event.

The IAAF 800 meters heats are slated for Saturday, Aug. 10 at 11:20 a.m. local time (3:20 a.m. Eastern Time). The 1,500 meter trials are scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 14 at 10:35 a.m. local time (2:35 a.m.).

“I just want to go there and see where I’m standing in the world and of course compete to the best of my ability,” Abdi said, who will be accompanied by his brother Addirahman. “That’s what (the Federation) picked me for, so I’m going to compete for them.”

Mohamed Arale, a recruiter for the Somalia Athletics Federation based in Washington D.C., has been tracking Abdi over the course of his college career and extended the invitation.

Despite minor injuries this season, Abdi enjoyed a stellar season as he qualified for the NCAA Championship in the 1,500 meters, finishing 14^th in the preliminary in 4:01.71. Over the course of the regular season, Abdi posted the sixth-fastest result in Division II – 3:46.62 – achieved at the Mount San Antonio College Relays on Apr. 18.

Abdi earned USTFCCCA All-East Region honors – awarded to student-athletes who achieve the top five results in the East Region – in both the 800 meters (1:51.91) and the 1,500 meters (3:46.62), the latter a personal best and the second-fastest individual result in UMass Lowell history.

“We couldn’t be happier for Omar,” said UMass Lowell head coach Gary Gardner. “He had some injuries which kept him back this season, but he has been healthy for a number of weeks now and we expect he will be in peak form by August. I think we have yet to see the best of him.”

Abdi, who ran his first three years at the University of Arkansas, ran a PR 1:50.97 in the 800 meters his junior year.

Abdi will be up against the gold, silver and bronze medalists from the London 2012 Olympic Games: Kenyan David Rudisha (1:40.91), who holds the world record; Nigel Amos of Botswana (1:41.73) and Timothy Kitum of Kenya (1:42.53), the gold, silver and bronze medalist at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

In the 1,500, Abdi will line up alongside Taoufik Makhloufi of Algeria (3:34.08), American Leonel Manzano (3:34.79) and Abdalaati Iguider of Morocco (3:35.13), who finished first, second and third last summer in London.

“It’s really special,” noted Abdi, who immigrated to the U.S. when he was 14. “Somalia is where my childhood was. There is a deep part of me that is Somali. It is exciting. I was thrilled. I told my parents and they were real excited for me.”

A 2009 graduate of Charlestown H.S., Abdi enjoyed a storied career which included winning All-American honors four times and capturing the MIAA state championship in the indoor and outdoor mile.

Filed under: Articles & English, SSPA NEWS