Epiphanie Nyirabarame

Épiphanie Nyirabaramé (born 15 December 1981, in Butare) is a Rwandan athlete who specialized in marathon and long-distance running, best known for representing Rwanda at two Olympic Games, the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens and the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Born into a family of seven children in Nyaruguru District's Rusenge sector, Nyirabaramé grew up in poverty and took up running without a coach or manager while still in primary school, after being inspired in 1989 by a radio documentary about fellow Rwandan athlete Marcianna Mukamurenzi. Her early talent was quickly noticed by her teachers, and she went on to win a gold medal in the women's marathon at the 2002 Francophone Games in Beirut. At her Olympic debut in Athens in 2004, Nyirabaramé finished 54th in the women's marathon with a time of 2:52:50. Four years later in Beijing, she improved to a personal Olympic-best time of 2:49:32, finishing just seven seconds behind Slovakia's Zuzana Šaríková. Her career-best performance came at the 2009 IAAF World Championships in Berlin, where she placed 26th in the women's marathon with a time of 2:33:59, a result that also set a new Rwandan national record, surpassing the mark previously held by Mukamurenzi since the 1990s. Beyond competition, Nyirabaramé was featured in the American documentary film Spirit of the Marathon II, which followed her performance at the 2012 Rome Marathon. Quotes On Overcoming Poverty and Early Challenges "Everyone was surprised to see a girl running bare feet. I felt that it didn’t matter to me because that was my life after all. I was better off running without shoes." Nyirabarame, the Athlete Who Run Through Adversities to Make Rwanda Proud KT Press (May 2023) On Supporting Young Women in Athletics "Some girls who ventured in athletics encounter problems but they sometimes have none they can entrust their grievances. It hurts me." Nyirabarame, the Athlete Who Run Through Adversities to Make Rwanda Proud KT Press (May 2023) External links Épiphanie Nyirabaramé Category:Living people Category:Rwandan female marathon runners Category:Rwandan long-distance runners Category:Olympic athletes for Rwanda Category:1981 births