By Haileegziabher Adhanom
A massive shoutout to the Ethiopian Athletics Federation (EAF) President, Sileshi Sihin, and his leadership team for believing in and successfully delivering the inaugural Addis Ababa Grand Prix on April 18, 2026. Credit also goes to World Athletics, through Head of Competition Management Pierce O’Callaghan for the trust and guidance.
Exceeding Expectations:
The brand-new tracks, the presence of global superstars like Gabby Thomas and Ferdinand Omanyala, and the electric stadium atmosphere elevated the event way beyond a standard Bronze Label event. I hope, World Athletics starts seriously considering Ethiopia’s quest to host a major global event definitely something beyond the Continental Gold Label circuit.
Government backing:
The government played its expected role by delivering the infrastructure on time and providing financial support. The federation should officially acknowledge these contributions, and that should be the end of the story. No unnecessary shenanigans are needed & the boundaries between sport and politics must be strictly respected.
Opening doors:
The event successfully created invaluable international competition opportunities for young, up and coming athletes, technical officials and media professionals alike.
Where There Is Room for Improvement:
Promotion vs. Propaganda:
The obvious benefit of hosting events like this is to showcase what the country has to offer to the world. However, when executed without creativity and a clear strategy, it comes across as propaganda and a cry for attention.
This rarely meshes well with sports, as it detracts from the pure joy of the competition.
Live Transmission Conundrum (HB vs. RH):
In this case, the broadcaster (OBN) was the Host Broadcaster (HB) and did not have an exclusive rights to own the content as they were not Right Holders (RH).
Plastering their watermark in the middle of an international broadcast was a cardinal sin.
They should have provided clean feeds for the national broadcaster and other federation approved media.
Athlete Management vs. Lack of Fresh Talent:
It is baffling to see athletes who register for an international event on home soil and simply not show up. This exposes the federation’s inability to enforce its own rules.
But the problem appears deeper than mere administration; there is a glaring lack of new, prodigy level talent, especially on the track.
Making a US athlete, the poster lady of the event in a country that calls itself the land of runners shows the severity of the problem.
Miracles Aren’t Permanent:
Pulling off an event of this magnitude with just six weeks of preparation is nothing short of a miracle. But you can’t rely on miracles forever. The federation needs to thoroughly evaluate and document this event. They must keep the good lessons, discard the bad, and start preparing now and well in advance for next year’s Gold Label event.
Protocol Matters:
A gentle reminder for the Master of Ceremonies regarding the order of precedence when calling dignitaries to speak (though frankly, their presence alone was statement enough, making speeches largely unnecessary).
A federal minister outranks the mayor of a capital city, contrary to what we saw yesterday.
Haileegziabher Adhanom is an athletics analyst. haileadhanom@gmail.com
This update is generally attributed to Pura Vida’s Content team. Feel free to shared any feedback or or relevant info incase of inaccuracies.
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