He returned to the RAK Half Marathon at the start of the following year but was a minute and a half off his best time, finishing in sixth. He did not compete for the rest of the year, but returned at the 2012 Paris Half Marathon, taking fifth in a time of 1:01:59 hours. This served as preparation for the Rotterdam Marathon. That race came down to a sprint finish against Yemane Tsegay and although ended up as runner-up by two seconds, he still set a personal best of 2:04:50 hours (making him joint ninth on the all-time lists). This gained him selection for the Olympic marathon, but he ended up dropping out of the race. He closed the year with a third-place finish at the Montferland Run.