--- title: "Egide Ntakarutimana second in 5000m Brussels; national record 12:46.73 in Belgium" sdDatePublished: "2026-09-17T14:11:00Z" source: "https://www.olympics.com/en/news/burundi-egide-ntakarutimana-embracing-attention-thriving-pressure-interview" topics: - name: "athletics" identifier: "medtop:20000827" - name: "Olympic Games" identifier: "medtop:20001177" locations: - "Budapest" - "Brussels-Capital" - "Atlanta" - "Hovedstaden" - "Lausanne" - "Zürich" - "Siena" - "Tuscany" - "Milan" - "Lisbon" - "Gitega" - "Bujumbura" - "Berģi" - "Île-de-France" - "Ethiopia" - "Kenya" - "Burundi" --- Egide Ntakarutimana second in 5000m Brussels; national record 12:46.73 in Belgium "I didn’t expect anyone to want to speak to me” - Burundi runner Egide Ntakarutimana embraces attention while thriving under pressure "I didn’t expect anyone to want to speak to me” - Burundi runner Egide Ntakarutimana embraces attention while thriving under pressure The east African runner, who finished second in the men’s 5000m at the 2026 Diamond League Final in Brussels, spoke to Olympics.com ahead of the World Athletics Road Running Championships and shared his Olympic dream. Egide Ntakarutimana is not used to the attention, that’s for sure. “You want to speak to me, Egide?” he poses to Olympics.com , “Oh, I didn’t expect anyone to want to speak to me…” The long-distance runner from Burundi had just finished eighth in his World Athletics Ultimate Championship race, the men's 5000m, which was won by reigning Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen . Ntakarutimana was slightly disappointed that he couldn’t replicate the time he achieved in his second-place finish at the 2026 Diamond League Final. “I would have wanted to run faster, honestly. I could have done like Brussels or even bettered that.” He clocked 13 minutes, 01.91 seconds, just a week after speeding to a national record of 12:46.73 in his second-place finish in Belgium. The Budapest race was stacked, and in every way the ultimate 5000m final, with the focus on the Norwegian track star Ingebrigtsen and world champion Cole Hocker of the USA, so for the African to be in the mix of that exciting race meant everything. He was his nation’s sole representative at the inaugural championship. “The race was tough, as the pace was slow as I led the field in the earlier laps and then ended in a crazy sprint. This was another experience for me, of racing with the best as I seek to be the best. Today’s result is very encouraging for me, but now it’s on to the next one, the World Road Running.” World Athletics Road Running Championships Copenhagen 2026: Stars in action, schedule and how to watch live The Distance | Five Rings Films The story of an enduring Japanese marathon tradition and a humble champion named Naoko Takahashi who captured her nation’s imagination with a run for the ages at the 2000 Olympic Games. A season of personal bests The Italy-based athlete hopes to shake up the men’s 5000m on the road at the Copenhagen 2026 World Road Running Championships, and finish among the event’s top performers. The Burundian has had an interesting last couple of months, to say the least. It began with him winning the Campaccio International Cross Country 10km race in Milan , a short distance from Siena in Tuscany, where he has based himself for the last six years. Then, in his first season racing consistently in the Diamond League, two fourth-place finishes at the Meeting de Paris and Athletissima in Lausanne qualified him for the series' blistering final in the Belgian capital. A race where Birhanu Balew , racing for Bahrain, produced a world-leading time for the year of 12:45.70. “It was a very good race for me, one of my best. To come out with a personal best and a national record was something. I really tried to push as I wanted to win, and I got the best possible result on what was a fast track,” Ntakarutimana told Olympics.com . Being the second-fastest man this year comes with an increased profile, which clearly takes time getting used to. But carrying the hopes of his nation is not pressuring him. “I am not used to the attention,” he beamed. “But it’s good for me, my country, after what has been a great season not only on track but also on the road.” Besides putting down his fastest run over the 5000m, he also raced his fastest ever over the 3000m at the Diamond League in Zurich, and also posted his best time over the half marathon, of 60 minutes 34 seconds, in Lisbon last March . A slow but steady build-up, making up for lost time. Unlike most of his east African counterparts, Ntakurimana only started running seriously when he was nearly 20. “Athletics is everything for me. It’s the main part of my life now. I loved running, although I only realised it could be a way out of my life much later in high school.” At the Atlanta Games, for the first time, every single National Olympic Committee recognised at the time is represented. Watch all the highlights here! Inspired and shaped by an Olympic champion Vénuste Niyongabo Ntakurimana grew up surrounded by the rolling hills and thin air in Gitega, just outside the country’s major city, Bujumbura, one of the highest capitals by elevation in Africa. He knew that, although Burundi’s runners were not as famous as their regional neighbours from Kenya and Ethiopia, they possessed the potential to excel on the world stage. Vénuste Niyongabo’s historic 5000m gold medal from Atlanta 1996 remains a powerful point of reference and benchmark for many aspiring Burundian distance runners. “In school, my teacher always told me to keep on running as I can be one of the best like the Olympians. But I only started taking it seriously when I moved to Bujumbura, and that’s where I developed. That's when our champion Vénuste Niyongabo helped me to move to Tuscany for further training.” Two World Championships and an Olympic qualification for Paris 2024 later, a spark and a sense of self-belief had been ignited that Burundi could finally regain a place in the long-distance running conversation. “I have a dream, a big dream to get the medal. That’s my focus: an Olympic medal in 2028 and be like Niyongabo. One thing we have to step up to is the change in approach. You no longer open a gap early. Like [in] Budapest, the race is very simple, but the difference is the sprint in the last 100m, what Ingebrigtsen did, that’s what I need to get there,” he said, referring to the Norwegian’s speedy finish. But before then, his focus will be on his return to the World Road Running Championships. He finished 13th in Riga, and given his current run of form, he could be on the verge of his long-awaited championship title in Denmark. “I want to do something good in Copenhagen, just wait and see...” Haile Gebrselassie | African Legends From running 20 kilometres a day to get to school to becoming one of the greatest distance runners in history, Haile Gebrselassie’s journey was extraordinary. The Ethiopian legend won two Olympic gold medals and set 27 world records to become “the Emperor” of running. Athletics | Road Running Championships | Copenhagen | Denmark