in Spain. In spite of this, the 2007 season was marked by a series of setbacks for Jeilan. He failed to finish the junior race at the 2007 IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Mombasa, later saying that "heat and the heaviness of the air suffocated me". He also lost his national title on the track, failing to reach the top three at the Ethiopian Championships. His performances on the track circuit were modest – his tenth place at the Golden Gala was almost ten seconds off his previous season's performance while a 10,000 m appearance at the FBK Games saw him placed 17th and run more than 45 seconds off his best. He returned to good form in 2008: he won the national junior cross country title but remarked (in reference to his poor 2007) "I had some personal problems which I do not want to speak about. The problems still exist but I hope they can be solved". At the 2007 IAAF World Cross Country Championships he dispelled the memory of his previous year by becoming the world junior champion, using a combination of tactics and fast finishing to win the race. This completed an Ethiopian sweep of all four titles at the championship. The withdrawal of Kenenisa Bekele from the 2008 African Championships in Athletics left a berth which Ibrahim filled. He formed part of a three-man Ethiopian sweep of the medals, taking the silver behind Gebregziabher Gebremariam. He started well on the circuit, managing fourth at the FBK Games then finishing as runner-up at the Prefontaine Classic, behind Kenenisa Bekele who ran virtually solo for the fourth fastest ever time. He attempted to defend his world junior 10,000 m title but was out-raced by Kenyans Josphat Kipkoech Bett and Titus Mbishei thus had to settle for the bronze medal. He won the Giro di Castelbuono 10K road race in Sicily in July, and brought his track season to a close two weeks later with an anticlimactic 15th at the Memorial van Damme. He ran at the São Silvestre de Luanda in Angola that December and won the 15 km race in course record time. 2009-Present His 2009 was low-key – moving beyond the junior ranks, he competed at no major championships. In June he was 14th at the FBK Games, and then recorded 27:22.19 in the 10,000 m for fourth place in Utrecht two weeks later.