ATHLETES from Burundi

Top 2

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Burundian Athletes of all time. This list of famous Burundian Athletes is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Vénuste Niyongabo (1973 - )

With an HPI of 38.65, Vénuste Niyongabo is the most famous Burundian Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 25 different languages on wikipedia.

Vénuste Niyongabo (born December 9, 1973) is a Burundian former long and middle-distance runner. In 1996, he became the first Olympic medalist from Burundi by winning the 5000 metres at the 1996 Summer Olympics. He had only competed twice before in that event prior to winning the gold medal.

2. Francine Niyonsaba (1993 - )

With an HPI of 27.21, Francine Niyonsaba is the 2nd most famous Burundian Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Francine Niyonsaba (born May 5, 1993) is a Burundian runner who specialized in the 800 metres and shifted to longer distances in 2019. She was the 2016 Rio Olympics silver medalist in the women's 800 metres. Her silver medal was the first Olympic medal for Burundi since 1996. Niyonsaba won a silver in the event at the 2017 World Championships. She is a two-time 800m world indoor champion, having won 800m in 2016 and 2018. After her move to longer distances, Niyonsaba finished fifth over the 10,000 metres at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She holds the world record in the 2000 metres, and seven Burundian records. In 2019, World Athletics announced that Niyonsaba would not be allowed to compete under the female classification in events between 400 metres and one mile due to its regulations on XY DSD athletes with naturally high testosterone levels.