Homiyu Tesfaye

A winner of numerous German under-20 and under-23 titles, he was accused of being Henok Tesfaye Heyi (an Ethiopian runner who is three years older) and thus of falsifying his age in competition.

[6] 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.

[2][8] 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.