On 26 March, Birhanu represented Bahrain at the 2017 World Cross Country Championships in Kampala, Uganda.

On 5 May Birhanu competed in his first Diamond League Meeting of the season running 7:52.98 to place 14th in Doha, Qatar.

In London Birhanu qualified to the final of the 5000m, and finished 12th in a time of 13:43.25; the race was won by Ethiopia's Muktar Edris.

Birhanu won a 5000m at the Shanghai Diamond League on 12 May in 13:09.64, and raced 2miles at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon, USA on 25 May, placing 3rd in 8:21.54.

LRunning in third place into the final 200m, race leader Yomif Kejelcha fell at grabbed Selemon Barega's shorts, pulling him out of the inside lane, while Birhanu ran by to win in a time of 13:01.09.

On 26 October Birhanu won the 5000m at the CISM Military World Games in Wuhan, China in a time of 14:08.99.

Birhanu began his 2021 track season by competing indoor over 3000m at the Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais; he finished 5th in an Asian Record of 7:34.58.

[7] At the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, Birhanu represented Bahrain in the 5000m and 10,000 metre competitions, but did not advance from the heat stage in the 5000m.