Yonas Kinde


Yonas Kinde is a track and field athlete originally from Ethiopia, but now living and training in Luxembourg, who was selected by the International Olympic Committee to compete for the Refugee Olympic Team at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He is coached by Yves Göldi. Yonas ran his fastest marathon with a time of 2 hours 17 minutes.

Personal life

Yonas, originally from Ethiopia, left his country due to political problems. He has been living in Luxembourg since 2012 and under international protection in Luxembourg since 2013. Yonas takes French lessons and works as a taxi driver.

Athletics career

Yonas began running in Ethiopia as a teenager mainly in cross-country, 10,000m and half marathons, eventually moving up to the full marathon. During his relatively short running career in Europe, coached by Yves Göldi, he won several titles in Luxembourg, France and Germany. In Frankfurt, Germany he ran his personal best in 2015 in 2 hours and 17 minutes.
Due to his refugee status, Yonas could not compete at international competitions, despite being fast enough to have qualified. On 3 July 2016, the IOC announced that Yonas would be part of a team of ten athletes selected to compete as a Refugee Olympic Athletes team at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He competed in the men's marathon.

Competitions

Personal bests