Marathon runner Feyisa Lilesa raised his arms in an X as he crossed the Olympic finish line on Sunday, a gesture of protest that he expects will make him a target of violence or government persecution in his home country of Ethiopia.
Lilesa won the silver medal in Sunday’s marathon with a time of 2:09:54. As all eyes turned to him, he raised and crossed his arms — a symbol that has been associated with protests of the Oromo ethnic group in Ethiopia.
“The Ethiopian government is killing my people, so I stand with all protests anywhere, as Oromo is my tribe,” Lilesa said at a press conference after his win, where he repeated the gesture.