Paris 2024 Olympics: Eyeru Gebru fled Tigray war to keep cycling dream alive

Gebru moved south to Mekele, the capital of Tigray, and began to represent Ethiopia on the continental and world stage.

In 2017, she got an invitation to train at the World Cycling Centre in Switzerland but three years later, soon after she returned home, events were to drastically change her life.

The outbreak of the Tigray war in November 2020 brought Gebru’s cycling ambitions to a halt.

The Ethiopian government clashed with forces in the region, including the Tigray People’s Liberation Front – the one-time ruling party of the East African country.

One study from Ghent University estimates up to 600,000 people have died because of the war, with more than two million displaced and nearly 900,000 forced to flee as refugees.

That last group included Gebru, who left eight months after the fighting started, ostensibly to compete at the 2021 World Championships in Belgium.

Instead, she claimed asylum in Nice, France. It was a decision which meant she was unable to compete professionally for two years.

“I had to leave my country to save my life,” Gebru said.

“I wasn’t racing or training, but I just kept believing. I didn’t want to give up easily, even though the truth was really hard.”

Once her asylum claim was approved, an old coach at the UCI – cycling’s world governing body – helped Gebru find a club in France.

“Then I joined this continental team and then I got the refugee scholarship for the Olympics,” she added.

“After I said, ‘OK, my cycling life is born again’.”