Meet Abbabiya Simbassa, the long-distance runner who became only the fourth American man to clock less than 2:07:00 during Valencia Marathon 2024

Abbabiya Simbassa is an Ethio-American long-distance runner who finished as the highest-placed US athlete in the men's field of the 2024 Valencia Marathon. He secured the 17th position, with a run time of 2:06:53.

Moreover, Simbassa became the fourth American runner to register a run time of under 2:07:00. He was just four minutes shy of the winner, Sebastian Sawe (2:02:05).

Simbassa took little less than three minutes off his previous personal best of 2:10:34 in a marathon event, which he had registered last year during the Prague Marathon.

On that note, let's know more about Abbabiya Simbassa, the long-distance runner who was the highest-placed US male marathoner in the 2024 Valencia marathon:

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Abbabiya Simbassa's family and hometown

Simbassa was born in the town of Asella in Central Ethiopia on June 30, 1993. His family includes his parents, Berissa and Zayituna, and two siblings, Sabona and Naole. He and his mother moved from Ethiopia to the United States in 2007, joining Simbassa's father who had been staying in the country since 2003.

Speaking of her difficult time in Ethiopia, Simbassa said in an interview (via Big 12 Conference) :

"Back in Ethiopia, I used to go to school about five miles total back and forth, just running. You don’t have transportation or somebody to take you to school, so that is the way you get to school on time."

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Abbabiya Simbassa's educational details

Simbassa celebrating his victory with the United States national flag (Image via: Simbassa Instagram handle)

Details about Simbassa's school in Ethiopia are not known, but, in the United States, he attended the North High School in Sioux City.

Following that, Simbassa joined the IOWA Central Community College and the University of Oklahoma. During these stint, he competed for their track and field sides.

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Abbabiya Simbassa's other achievements

During his time at the IOWA Community College, Simbassa became a half-marathon All-American twice. For the Oklahoma Sooners, he finished third in the 5000 meter event at the 2015 Indoor Big 12 Championships with a time of 14:32.76.

In his senior career, his major achievements include gold medals in the 10K run at the NACAC Cross Country Championships in 2017 and 2019, respectively. He also clinched a second-place finish at the US 20Km Road Running Championships.