Tadesse Abraham: “The end of my career began ten years ago”

Words by Robert Birnbaum. Photography by Matthieu Croizier.

It's March 10, 2024 in Barcelona, Spain. On athlete, Tadesse Abraham soaks up the final moments of the Barcelona Marathon with a lead of over a minute. The 41-year-old looks sensationally fresh after more than 40 kilometers at a pace of under 4:50 minutes per mile (3 minutes per kilometer). His 13-year-old son goes stride for stride with him, cheering from the side of the road. The clock reads 2:05:01 as Tadesse makes his victory official. Not only the victory, but also the new course record and a new Swiss marathon record. A true running fairy tale. Abraham sinks to his knees, exhaustion, but above all, joy written all over his face.

Shortly after he makes history, I meet “Tade” in Zurich. He offers unfiltered, honest insights into the race and how his performance the previous year had inspired him.

“My form was great – just like last year in Barcelona. But in 2023, I was struggling with stomach issues three days before the race. I was on course for 2:05 hours up to kilometer 37. Then came the very tough last four kilometers and I missed my best time by five seconds. It was disappointing, but I moved on and said: ‘I'll be back next year and run better.’”

At the beginning of the year, Abraham traveled to Iten, Kenya for two “very intense, but good” months of preparation in a training camp. Then, at the pre-race meeting for Barcelona 2024, he asked the pacemakers to set a fast first half-marathon time of 1:02 hours. His wish was denied, but Abraham wasn’t deterred. Halfway through the race, the leading group was already 45 seconds behind his expectations. He made the call to take control of the race.

“I picked up the pace together with the pacemaker. He did a good job up to the 30th kilometer, but when I asked him if he could go on like that for another five kilometers, he was already worn out. 'I'm not just here for the win, I want a good time,' I said to the other runners in the lead group, and we helped each other until they ran out of energy. Then I said to myself: ‘Tade, this is your job, you have to keep going’.”

Abraham didn’t hit the original goal of 2:04 hours, and yet, his triumph was glorious: “2:04 didn't work out, but with the win, course record and Swiss record – what more could you want? I'm super happy.”

Abraham has now broken the Swiss marathon record for the fourth time. 2:06:40 in Seoul 2016, 2:06:38 in Zurich 2022, 2:05:10 in Berlin 2023 and in 2024, 2:05:01 in Barcelona. Even at the age of 41, the Swiss legend still outdoes himself, with no signs of slowing down. When he set his sights on his record in Zurich 2022, a battle for every second ensued. At the time, he recounted how he ditched his hat shortly before the finish line, despite the cold, to tap into that last bit of speed. In Berlin, he made a tactical mistake and still beat his record time from Zurich by one minute and 28 seconds.

“I realized after the marathon that I still had reserves. I realized that I still had strength. That I could run 2:04 in Barcelona. ‘This Tade, he still has room to grow’, I told myself. With the support of my family, anything is possible.”

The sky's the limit and in winning form, Abraham declared 2024 to be the final year of his professional athletic career. 

“Running is my life. I started in 1997 at the age of 15 and it's still going well. But what’s my goal? Do I want to end my career, or do I want my career ending me? Retirement has been on my mind for a long time, but I wanted to have a fitting closing act.”

When Abraham talks about having the end of his career in the back of his mind for a long time, he doesn't mean one or two years, but ten. 

“The end of my career began in 2014, when I was the favorite at the start of the Zurich Marathon. It didn't go well and I finished ninth. I cried for the full three hours on the car ride from Zurich back to Geneva. I said I would never run again. By kilometer 34, I’d decided that I’d finish the race and then never run again.”

Dejected, the thought left him no peace the following night. Abraham’s wife found the right words to rekindle the seemingly extinguished fire within him.

“My wife Senait told me ‘It would be weak if you’d quit like that. Sport has won over you. Show everyone your potential and then retire of your own free will. Not because the sport is forcing you to.’ Then I thought about it for a few days, put on my running shoes and went for a run. I wanted to show the world what I was made of.”

After his humbling experience and the subsequent self-doubt, Tadesse was hungrier than ever. So much so that he went into training overconfident and struggled with injuries for the next year and a half. Finally, back on winning form, he broke the Swiss marathon record for the first time in 2016 – two years after his crisis. ‘Tade’ had shown the world what he was made of. 

Abraham planned for his family to accompany him to his next stop, the Olympics in Rio. When health reasons prevented his son from flying, that changed. Abraham decided to continue until the next games in Tokyo, and then hang up his running shoes. Then came Tokyo, and the Covid-19 pandemic. Abraham couldn't finish his race. And he just didn't want to go out like that. So Paris is still on the program for 2024. 

If you can continue to set records and compete in the biggest running event of the year, you should keep going, right?

“You always want more. But you have to have a limit for your wishes. Even sugar gets too sweet at some point. When I came to Switzerland, I had three goals: Firstly, to win my life in Switzerland – to be in total control of my own life. Secondly, to take part in the Olympic Games as an athlete at least once. And lastly, to have a coffee with On Partner, Roger Federer – I'm a big Federer fan. Last year, I really did have a coffee with Roger. I achieved all my goals. Everything else is a bonus. Now I say: ‘Enough!’”

Abraham sees the sunny side of his new phase of life. “The end of my career doesn't mean the end of my life. I love sports, and will always do sports. In the future, I will manage young athletes. I'm already doing that now, but when my career is over, I will support even more athletes. I'll accompany them during preparation and at competitions – that's my dream job. I'm also looking forward to having more time for my family. My son is now 13 years old, he needs me as a father.”

Today, Tade is a national Swiss hero. His legacy, coming into focus more than ever in the final year of his running career.

“The question is what you do for Swiss athletics. For me, it's important to make history with my name. You can earn money with any job. But you can’t make history with any job. It has to inspire the next generation, teach them something. With hard work, someone will break my record. I am proud to hold this record, but I would be even happier if someone broke it.”

When I congratulate Abraham on his third Swiss marathon record, he corrects me with a smile, “Fourth record,” he says, proudly. 

“Maybe I'll set a fifth,” Abraham winks at me and leaves the room.