The Most Famous
ATHLETES from Burundi
This page contains a list of the greatest Burundian Athletes. The pantheon dataset contains 6,025 Athletes, 2 of which were born in Burundi. This makes Burundi the birth place of the 109th most number of Athletes behind North Macedonia, and Zambia.
Top 3
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 (b. 1973)
With an HPI of 42.83, Vénuste Niyongabo is the most famous Burundian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 28 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 (b. 1993)
With an HPI of 27.96, Francine Niyonsaba is the 2nd most famous Burundian Athlete. Her biography has been translated into 25 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. With a time of 5:21.56, Niyonsaba holds the African record in the 2000 metres, set in 2021, along with seven Burundian records. Her 2000 metres time was previously the world record until it was broken by Jessica Hull in 2024, who ran 5:19.70. 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.
3. Olivier Irabaruta (b. 1990)
With an HPI of 0.00, Olivier Irabaruta is the 3rd most famous Burundian Athlete. His biography has been translated into different languages.
Olivier Irabaruta (born 25 August 1990) is a Burundian long-distance runner. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he competed in the Men's 5000 metres, finishing 29th overall in Round 1, failing to qualify for the final. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, he competed in the 5000 metres and the 10,000 metres. He finished 27th overall in round 1 of the 5000 m competition and did not qualify for the finals. He finished 27th in the 10,000m competition. Irabaruta was the flag bearer for Burundi during the Parade of Nations. He represented his country at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in 2009 as a junior runner and in 2015, 2017, and 2019 as a senior athlete. In 2019, he competed in the men's marathon at the 2019 World Athletics Championships held in Doha, Qatar. He did not finish his race. He represented Burundi at the 2020 Summer Olympics in the men's marathon.
People
Pantheon has 3 people classified as Burundian athletes born between 1973 and 1993. Of these 3, 3 (100.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Burundian athletes include Vénuste Niyongabo, Francine Niyonsaba, and Olivier Irabaruta. As of April 2024, 1 new Burundian athletes have been added to Pantheon including Olivier Irabaruta.
Living Burundian Athletes
Go to all Rankings
Vénuste Niyongabo
1973 - Present
HPI: 42.83
Francine Niyonsaba
1993 - Present
HPI: 27.96
Olivier Irabaruta
1990 - Present
HPI: 0.00
