The unforgettable Belayneh Dinsamo rose to a universal fame when he set a new world record in Marathon in Rotterdam, Holland on April 17, 1988. His record of 2 hours 6 minutes and 50 seconds stood until 1998.

Belayneh Dinsamo's ran this world-record setting race at a flat, out-and-back course in Rotterdam, Holland. The race was held on a windless spring day. Ethiopia chose Rotterdam as its Olympic Trial in a last-minute switch from Boston. Along with Belayneh Dinsamo, Ethiopia had fielded Abebe Mekonnen, Kebede Balcha and Wodajo Bulti. At 25 km mark, the group was 15 seconds behind Carlos Lopes' WR (2:07,12) pace. By 35km mark they managed to shrink the gap only by a second. At that point, Djibouti's Ahmad Salah was leading and only Belayneh Dinsamo was able to go with him. Ahmad Salah and Belayneh Dinsamo ran the next 5 km in sub 15 minutes. With two kilometers to go, Belayneh Dinsamo was 14 seconds ahead of Lopes' pace and 25m ahead of Ahmad Salah.

Belayneh crossed the finish-line in 2 hours 6 minutes and 50 seconds setting a record that stood for a decade.

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