New setback for Europe's fastest marathon runner

Belgian and European record holder Bashir Abdi will not be appearing at the start of the Rotterdam marathon in April after all.

The 36-year-old Ghent native was aiming for a stunning time in the Netherlands, even choosing to skip the European Championships in Belgium for it. But an injury now thwarts the plans of the amiable silver medallist from the recent Olympic Games.

A hip injury forces Bashir Abdi to shelve his record attempt. In 2021, the Belgian set the European record at 2:03:36 in Rotterdam. The injury seems minor, but Rotterdam comes too soon. Abdi is now shifting his focus to the World Championships in Tokyo this September.

(Raul Stiens - Photo: ©Picture by Erik van Leeuwen (Wikipedia) GFDL licensed under GNU free documentation license via Wikimedia Commons)