Eyeru Tesfoam Gebru

{{Infobox cyclist

| name = Eyeru Tesfoam Gebru

| image = Eyeru Gebru.jpg

| caption = Eyeru in 2017

| fullname = Eyeru Tesfoam Gebru

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1996|12|10|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Aksum, Tigray Region, Ethiopia

| death_date =

| death_place =

| height =

| weight =

| currentteam = {{UCI team code|GEK}}

| discipline = Road

| role = Rider

| ridertype =

| amateuryears1 = 2018

| amateurteam1 = {{UCI team code|WCC|2018}}

| proyears1 = 2019–2020

| proteam1 = {{UCI team code|WCC|2019}}

| proyears2 = 2023–

| proteam2 = {{UCI team code|GEK|2023}}

}}

Eyeru Tesfoam Gebru ({{Langx|ti|እየሩ ተስፎም ገብሩ}}; born 10 December 1996) is an Ethiopian professional racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Women's Continental Team {{UCI team code|GEK}}.{{cite web|url=https://www.procyclingstats.com/rider/eyeru-tesfoam-gebru |title=Eyeru Tesfoam Gebru |work=ProCyclingStats |access-date=24 September 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://ethiocyclingholidays.com/2020/02/tsgabu-opens-2020-season-with-two-tour-races-in-spain/ |title=Tsgabu opens 2020 season with two tour races in Spain |work=Ethio Cycling |access-date=24 September 2020}} She rode in the women's road race and time trial at the UCI Road World Championships in 2017, 2018 and 2020. She competed in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris for the Refugee Olympic Team.{{Cite web |last=Mitchell |first=Mathew |date=2024-02-16 |title=Eyeru Tesfoam Gebru Chosen as Torchbearer for Paris 2024 Olympics • ProCyclingUK.com |url=https://procyclinguk.com/eyeru-tesfoam-gebru-chosen-as-torchbearer-for-paris-2024-olympics/ |access-date=2024-07-18 |website=ProCyclingUK.com |language=en-GB}}

Biography

Gebru was born in Aksum and is Tigrayan. At 16, she joined the local Ketema Axum Cycling Club. The following year, she relocated to Tigray's cycling capital Mekelle, where she was selected for the Messebo Sement Factory Cycling Club's women's team.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cyclingnews.com/features/cycling-saved-my-life-eyeru-tesfoam-gebru-on-pro-cycling-as-a-refugee/|title='Cycling saved my life' - Eyeru Tesfoam Gebru on facing civil war and a message of hope through pro racing as a refugee|work=Cycling News|first=Chris|last=Marshall-Bell|date=4 September 2023|accessdate=28 July 2024}}

The Tigray War broke out in 2020. Gebru was separated from her mother and lost some of her friends and family. When a route was opened up between Mekelle and Addis Abbaba in 2021, Gebru fled. She arrived in France in August 2021 ahead of the World Championships in Belgium, but did not to show up in protest as "I did not want to represent my country because it would have been supporting the genocide of my people". She was granted asylum in July 2022,{{Cite web|url=https://www.uci.org/article/eyeru-tesfoam-gebru-the-uci-world-cycling-centres-olympic-torch-bearer/1iTaDc0kK2bO9ywrIsmzUv|title=Eyeru Tesfoam Gebru: the UCI World Cycling Centre's Olympic torch bearer|website=UCI|date=16 January 2024|accessdate=28 July 2024}} and has since lived in Nice and near Nancy.