{{short description|German long-distance runner (born 1996)}} {{Infobox sportsperson | name = Samuel Fitwi Sibhatu | fullname = | image = File:2022-08-21 European Championships 2022 – Men's 10,000 Metres by Sandro Halank–103.jpg | image_size = | caption = Fitwi Sibhatu at the 2022 European Championships for the 10,000 Meters race | nationality = German | residence = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1996|01|01|df=y}} | birth_place = Eritrea | death_date = | death_place = | height = | weight = | sport = Athletics | event = Long-distance running | collegeteam = | club = | pb = {{ubl |'''Marathon:''' 2:04:45 Hamburg 2026) }} | medaltemplates = {{Medal|Sport|Men's athletics}} {{Medal|Country|{{flag|Germany}}}} {{MedalCompetition|European Championships}} {{Medal|Bronze|2024 Rome|Half Marathon team}} }}
'''Samuel Fitwi Sibhatu''' (born 1 January 1996) is a German marathon runner. He won a bronze medal at the 2024 European Athletics Championships and ran at the 2024 Summer Olympics.<ref>{{cite web|title= Samuel Fitwi Sibhatu|website=World Athletics|accessdate=10 August 2024|url= https://worldathletics.org/athletes/germany/samuel-fitwi-sibhatu-14773664}}</ref>
==Early life== At the age of 17, Sibhatu fled his home country of Eritrea with a group of four peers to Cologne to escape the military regime . After his escape, he was taken in by a family in Stadtkyll, Rhineland-Palatinate.<ref>{{cite web|first=Hannah|last=Altschuk|title=Suddenly an Olympic hero – runner between two worlds (= SWR Portrait. No. 22)|website=Südwestrundfunk|url= https://www.ardmediathek.de/video/Y3JpZDovL3N3ci5kZS9hZXgvbzIwODk2MDk|date=1 August 2024|accessdate=10 August 2024}}</ref>
==Career== Having obtained German citizenship in 2018,<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.volksfreund.de/sport/laufen/auf-dem-laufenden/lauftalent-samuel-fitwi-sibhatu-erhaelt-deutschen-pass_aid-7021662|first= Mario |last=Hübner|title=Menschen: Ein Lauftalent aus Eritrea mischt die Szene in der Region Trier auf|website= volksfreund.de|date=8 January 2018|accessdate=10 August 2024}}</ref> Sibhatu competed for Germany in the 10,000 meters at the 2022 European Athletics Championships in Munich, where he finished in ninth place with a new personal best time of 28:03.92 minutes.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.hdsports.de/leichtathletik/leichtathletik-em-ergebnisse-10-000-meter-italiener-triumphiert-vor-ueberraschungsmann|website=hdsports|accessdate=10 August 2024|title= EUROPEAN ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS - RESULTS 10,000 METRES: ITALIAN TRIUMPHS AHEAD OF SURPRISE MAN|date=22 August 2022}}</ref>
In 2023, Sibhatu achieved a personal best time of 2:08:28 hours at the Berlin Marathon, this also placed him in fourth place on the German all-time list.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.lvrheinland.de/news/single-view?tx_news_pi1%5Baction%5D=detail&tx_news_pi1%5Bcontroller%5D=News&tx_news_pi1%5Bnews%5D=8803&cHash=aa523dc810a3d61659cb978230cbbfb6|website=lvrheinland|accessdate=10 August 2024|title= Samuel Fitwi: Marathon in record time|date=26 September 2023}}</ref>
On January 7, 2024, Sibhatu set a new best time of 2:06:27 in finishing fifth in the Dubai Marathon, that time met the qualifying standard for the 2024 Olympic Games.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.watchathletics.com/page/4938/results-dubai-marathon-2024|website=Watch Athletics|accessdate=10 August 2024|title= Results - Dubai Marathon 2024|date=7 January 2024}}</ref>
He won a bronze medal at the 2024 European Athletics Championships in the Men's half marathon team event. In the individual race he placed fifth.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.european-athletics.com/news/crippa-and-riva-land-another-italian-1-2-in-roma-2024|website=European Athletics|accessdate=10 August 2024|title= Crippa and Riva land another Italian 1-2 in Roma 2024|date=9 June 2024}}</ref> He competed at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, placing fifteenth in the marathon in 2:09:50.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://worldathletics.org/competition/calendar-results/results/7153115?eventId=10229634 |title= The XXXIII Olympic Games|date=10 August 2024|access-date=27 April 2026| website=World Athletics}}</ref> In December 2024, he ran 2:04:56 for the marathon in Valencia, Spain.<ref>{{cite web|date=1 December 2024|title=Maratón Valencia Trinidad Alfonso Zurich|website=World Athletics|accessdate=27 April 2026|url=https://worldathletics.org/competition/calendar-results/results/7207332?eventId=10229634}}</ref>
In April 2025, he won the Hannover Marathon in 2:06:29.<ref>{{Cite web | url= https://worldathletics.org/competition/calendar-results/results/7215435?eventId=10229634|date=6 April 2025|title= Hannover Marathon |access-date=27 April 2026| website=World Athletics}}</ref> At the 2026 Hamburg Marathon on 26 April, he finished second behind Moroccan Othmane El Goumri in a lifetime best of 2:04:45, moving to tenth on the European all-time list.<ref>{{Cite web | url= https://www.european-athletics.com/home/news/fitwi-finishes-second-in-the-hamburg-marathon-in-2-04-45 |title= Fitwi finishes second in the Hamburg Marathon in 2:04:45 |first=Steven|last= Mills|date=26 Apr 2026|access-date=27 April 2026| website=European Athletics}}</ref>
== References == {{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitwi Sibhatu, Samuel}} Category:1996 births Category:Living people Category:Eritrean refugees Category:German men long-distance runners Category:Olympic men long-distance runners Category:Olympic athletes for Germany Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Olympics Category:21st-century German sportsmen