The following year, he became the first Ethiopian to win the Dream Mile and he further improved his national mark in the process, running 3:48.95 minutes. He also improved his 1500 m best to 3:32.18 minutes at the Herculis meeting in Monaco. He entered the 2009 World Championships in Athletics in Berlin and reached the 1500 m final. He won the silver medal behind Yusuf Saad Kamel, becoming Ethiopia's first medallist in the event at the World Championships. He competed in both the 1500 m and 3000 m at the season-closer 2009 IAAF World Athletics Final, but failed to medal in either event.