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By Austin Roper 

For over half of Obsie Birru’s life, she has spent her time learning to adapt. She moved to a new country at 12 years old, then found unexpected running success in college. Now, she’s juggling a full-time job while pursuing two masters degrees as well as the possibility of being an Olympian. 

She didn’t envision this being her life while in her younger years, though.

She grew up in Ethiopia and one of her early childhood memories is witnessing the parades to celebrate Ethiopian Olympic runners as they returned to the country. 

“It was pretty inspiring to me to see all of the Olympians come home and see the parade there for them,” Birru said. “But I never really thought to myself like, ‘Oh, you know, someday I’ll get to be one of those people.’”

Instead, she played other sports, like soccer in the school yard with her friends. When she reached age 12, she was adopted by an Ethiopian-born father and an American-born mother. For her, that pairing eased the transition into the United States.

“[My parents] were both educators,” Birru said. “So it was nice to have them around all summer where they can help me kind of adjust to both the classroom life as well as a little bit into the culture.”

Two weeks after arriving in the U.S., Birru began going to school in her first American hometown of Des Moines, Iowa. Building friendships with other kids her age at the time was difficult, as she didn’t fully understand English. 

To make that easier, she joined the cross country team which developed a close relationship with her coach Patrick Hennes as well as a new passion for the sport.  

“I would run before school, which my parents thought was weird,” Birru said. “I was just really motivated to do it and have fun with it.”

Hennes continued to coach her throughout high school, and their relationship blossomed into the close connection they have today. Hennes even adopted a son from Ethiopia, with Birru playing such an integral part in the decision that Hennes named Birru godmother. 

“Part of what drew us to the culture and wanting to adopt from Ethiopia was just our experience with Obsie,” Hennes said. 

There she began to separate herself from the competition. During her time at Grandview, Birru became an 18-time NAIA All-American and a five-time national champion. 

She now works as an academic advisor at Northcentral University and is pursuing masters degrees online for health promotions and wellness management. 

She also continued her running career after college and qualified for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Marathon in Los Angeles, but struggled because of an iron deficiency on her way to finish with a time of 3:14:15. To qualify for the 2020 Olympic Marathon Trials in Atlanta, Birru placed second at the 2019 California International Marathon with a personal best of 2:30:24. 

However, preparing for the 2020 Trials has included similar setbacks that Birru experienced in the 2016 Olympic Trials. In the final days of December, she was forced to put running aside for three weeks as she was battling an illness, but has driven herself to find renewed vitality to continue preparing for Atlanta. 

“I’m not gonna sit here and, you know, feel sorry for myself,” Birru said. “The first week back was hard. I struggled. I was just telling myself, ‘You gotta get through this.’”

The Olympic Trials in Atlanta is an opportunity for Birru to give thanks to her family, coaches and even their families who have supported her from the beginning. The race is more about making them proud of her because they’ve had so much to do with who she is today. 

Leading up to the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Marathon, Atlanta Track Club partnered with the Grady Sports Media program at the University of Georgia to profile some of the competitors in the 2020 Olympic Marathon Trials. The authors of these stories are undergraduate students enrolled in the program and have been lightly edited by the Club. See all of the stories at https://www.atlanta2020trials.com/news/uga-trials-project.