Bejiga, Abreha Lead Ethiopian Double At tRUNsylvania 10km

Ethiopia produced a dominant double at the 2026 tRUNsylvania 10km in Brasov, Romania, on Sunday, with Khairi Bejiga and Asefu Abreha leading clean sweeps of the men’s and women’s podiums.

Bejiga, 20, became the first athlete in the six-year history of the race to successfully defend the title, winning the men’s race in 27:01.

The Ethiopian broke clear of compatriot and training partner Nibret Kinde only in the final 200 metres, with Kinde finishing just one second behind in a huge personal best of 27:02.

Ayele Tadesse completed the Ethiopian clean sweep in 27:10, while Kenya’s Amos Bett finished fourth in 27:13.

Bejiga had led a 12-man group through 5km in 13:32 before turning up the pace in the middle stages. His aggressive running gradually reduced the leading pack before he finally shook off Kinde in the closing stages.

Bejiga said he had been targeting a faster opening half and was chasing both the course record and his personal best of 26:51.

He will now turn his attention to the Valencia Half Marathon on October 25.

The women’s race also produced an Ethiopian clean sweep, with 20-year-old Abreha claiming a major upset in a personal best of 30:16.

Abreha, an African Championships 10,000m bronze medallist earlier this year, had only previously run one 10km road race, clocking 31:32 in Bengaluru in April.

She showed remarkable improvement in Brasov, breaking away from compatriot Aynadis Mebratu in the final 200 metres to win by three seconds.

Mebratu finished second in 30:19, while Yenenesh Shimket, 19, completed the Ethiopian sweep in 30:21 to set a world U20 10km best.

Djibouti’s Samia Hassan Nour and South Africa’s Tayla Kavanagh also set national records, finishing fourth and fifth in 30:37 and 30:50 respectively.

The tRUNsylvania 10K is a World Athletics Elite Label Road Race.