The Ethiopian Olympics Committee (EOC) and the Ethiopian Athletics Federation (EAF) have jointly invited Feyisa Lelisa, marathon silver medalist at the Rio Olympics, to return home. The two bodies stated that they are readying themselves to give him a hero’s welcome.
Feyisa seized global attention after he showed his arm crossed to signify his resentment to the ruling party in the country. After two years of stay in the US, the silver medal winner was invited to return home and resume his training in his home country.
Following the new reforms and the invitation from the Olympics committee and Athletics Federation; he said that he is ready to return home.
“I didn’t see any request of invitation from Ethiopia before. So, I think this is such a good thing to receive an invitation from them. So, I accept their invitation,” he said.
An official statement from the EOC and EAF states that they want Feyisa to represent Ethiopia in competitions.
Feyisa was running while in exile after his protest in Rio. He and his family reunited in 2017.
Feyisa has won the Dublin Marathon in 2009 in his debut race and then won the Xiamen International Marathon in 2010. After the Rio Olympics, he won the United Airlines New York City half marathon in 2017 and again won the Bogota Half Marathon in the same year.
