Balew shatters Asian and Bahraini record in Oslo 5,000m thriller

TDT | Manama

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Bahrain’s Birhanu Balew delivered a superb performance at the Oslo Bislett Games on Wednesday night, setting a new Asian and national record in the men’s 5,000 metres while finishing a close second in a dramatic Diamond League finish.

In one of the season’s most competitive races, Balew stopped the clock at 12:47.73, missing victory by just 0.11 seconds in a tightly contested sprint to the line. The win went to Ethiopia’s Addisu Yihune in a world-leading 12:47.62, with Sweden’s Andreas Almgren taking third in 12:48.61. A deep American field followed closely behind, with Parker Wolfe, Grant Fisher, and Graham Blanks all finishing inside 12:50.

The Bahraini star’s performance broke his own Asian and national record of 12:48.67, set in Paris last year, reinforcing his consistency at the highest level of distance running. It also marks another step forward in a strong season that has already included multiple Diamond League appearances, including a seventh-place finish in Xiamen earlier last month.

This latest breakthrough further cements Balew’s status as one of Bahrain’s leading distance prospects heading into the Asian Games in Aichi and Nagoya this September.