Born in
Debre Zeyit near
Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, Homiyu claimed
right of asylum in
Frankfurt am Main in 2010 and began training with athletics coach
Wolfgang Heinig at the
LG Eintracht Frankfurt sport club. He began competing in Germany the following year and reached national competitions in 2012. He won the German indoor title in the
1500 metres, then placed third at the
2012 German Athletics Championships. He also won the
junior (under-20) titles over
3000 metres and
5000 metres, as well as the German under-23 1500 m title. 2013 marked his breakthrough as a runner internationally as he gained German citizenship that June. A physical exchange with
Robin Schembera over 800 m at the
2013 German Athletics Championships saw Homiyu fall and hurt his leg after finishing just behind the native German. Three weeks previously, Homiyu had taunted his opponents after winning the German under-23 title by doing press ups by the finish line while his opponents were still racing – Schembera remarked that beating Homiyu was "a matter of honour". Homiyu improved his personal best in the 1500 m to 3:34.76 minutes and gained selection for the
2013 World Championships in Athletics as a result. In the
World Championships 1500 m he finished in fifth place – the best finish by a German athlete in over twenty years. He finished the year with a personal best run of 3:34.18 minutes at the
Weltklasse Zürich meeting and a win at the
Trierer Silvesterlauf. The greatest topic of discussion was whether Homiyu was committing
age fraud – coaches and other athletes mentioned that he looked very similar (and had a very similar name) to
Henok Tesfaye Heyi, a runner who represented Ethiopia over 800 m at the
2008 World Junior Championships in Athletics. Henok, whose birthdate was three years older than that of Homiyu's, had suddenly disappeared from international competition the same year that Homiyu claimed
asylum in Germany. Race photos also showed the two having worn the same running strip. Critics claimed this meant Homiyu had won several German age category titles that he was too old to compete in. His coach, Wolfgang Heinig, sharply criticised those who made the claims and Homiyu denied the resemblance and claimed he did not know the runner who shared his family names. Michael Reinsch, a journalist from the
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, a nationwide daily newspaper, was initially denied an interview with the Hessen Athletics Association on the grounds of a gagging order. A limited press session was later agreed with the attendance of
Thomas Kurschilgen, sports director of the
Deutscher Leichtathletik-Verband (German Athletics Association), to dismiss the rumours. Reinsch revealed that age verification had not been undertaken by the Hessen Athletics Association that admitted him and also stated that political asylum seekers are often issued with new names and birthdates so as to protect them from being persecuted abroad. ==References==