Abdi Abdirahman is ready for London

Three-time Olympic athlete Abdi Abdirahman emigrated with his family to Tucson from Mogadishu, Somalia in 1990. He did not begin running competitively until 1996, during his second year at Pima Community College. He transferred to the University of Arizona in 1997, and in the spring of 1998, won two Pac-10 titles. He graduated from the UA in 2000 with a degree in retail consumer sciences.His coach gave him the nickname “The Black Cactus.” The name quickly took off in Flagstaff, where he frequently trains with fellow Tucson Olympic athlete Bernard Lagat. Abdirahman has been to the Olympics three times already, in 2000, 2004 and 2008, competing in the 10,000m run. In January, he qualified for his first Olympic team in the marathon with the third fastest personal-best time of 2:08:56.

You can watch all the action live August 12 at 3am on NBC.