After an injury-plagued 2025 season, Bashir Abdi has big plans for 2026.
The two-time Olympic marathon medallist will be seeking his third victory in the NN Rotterdam Marathon on 12 April and the Belgian is also seeking an improvement on his European marathon record of 2:03:36 in 2026.
"It's a special marathon. I've already run 14 marathons, four of which were here in Rotterdam. It won't be easy to win here, as there will be a strong field of participants. But I'm especially looking forward to running with a good feeling," said Abdi as quoted by Sporza.be.
Abdi’s European marathon record of 2:03:36 has stood for over four years. He ran that time in winning the 2021 Rotterdam Marathon just two months after winning his first Olympic marathon medal with bronze in Tokyo.
The 36-year-old approached his European record two years later in winning the Rotterdam Marathon for the second time in 2:03:47 and he is astutely aware that a growing number of runners are getting closer to his record time.
"I feel many athletes are getting close to that record. If I want to hold on to it for a few more years, I have to go faster. Whether it's for this edition or another time, I don't know. But my ambition is to break that European record," said Abdi.
Ahead of the Rotterdam Marathon, Abdi will test his form and fitness in his home city in the Gent Half Marathon on 8 March.
The Rotterdam Marathon has a long and illustrious history for producing record-breaking performances.
Aside from Abdi’s European record in 2021, Portugal’s Carlos Lopes set a world record of 2:07:12 in 1985 which was broken on the same course in 1988 by Ethiopia’s Belayneh Dinsamo whose world record of 2:06:50 stood for a decade.
Tegla Loroupe also broke Ingrid Kristiansen’s long-standing world record in the women’s marathon with 2:20:47 in 1988.
Abdi’s 10 fastest marathon times
2:03:36 (1) - 2021 Rotterdam Marathon
2:03:47 (1) - 2023 Rotterdam Marathon
2:04:32 (3) - 2023 Chicago Marathon
2:04:49 (2) - 2020 Tokyo Marathon
2:05:19 (3) - 2022 London Marathon
2:05:23 (4) - 2022 Rotterdam Marathon
2:06:14 (5) - 2019 Chicago Marathon
2:06:47 (2) - 2024 Olympic Games (Paris)
2:06:48 (3) - 2022 World Athletics Championships (Eugene, OR)
2:07:03 (7) - 2019 London Marathon