Genzebe Dibaba Keneni ( Oromo: ''Ganzabee Dibaabaa Qananii'';

Amharic Amharic ( or ; (Amharic: ), ', ) is an Ethiopian Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amharas, and also serves as a lingua franca for all oth ...

: ገንዘቤ ዲባባ ቀነኒ; born 8 February 1991) is an Ethiopian middle- and

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance running comes two d ...

. A

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athle ...

2016 Rio Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...

silver medalist, she won a gold medal in this event and a bronze in the

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a s ...

at the 2015 World Championships. Genzebe is the current world record holder for the 1500m, and the indoor events of the

one mile The mile run (1,760 yards or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance foot race. The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling races. It survived track and field's switch t ...

, 3000m and 5000m. She holds the distinction of possessing the most world records by one woman in track history, with her current haul of four, plus two world bests. Having competed at all

World Athletics Championships The World Athletics Championships (until 2019 known as the World Championships in Athletics) are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics (formerly IAAF, International Association of Athletics Federations). Alongside the Ol ...

between 2009 and 2017, Genzebe placed in the finals of all events in which she took part. She is a five-time World Indoor champion, winning the 1500m in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

, the 3000m in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

and

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

, and securing the 1500m/3000m double in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

. She was highly successful as a junior athlete. In 2008, at age 17, she won her first

World Cross Country Championships World Athletics Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Formerly held annually and organised by World Athletics (formerly the IAAF), it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the Int ...

under-20 title and took a silver medal in the 5000m at the World U20 Championships. The next year, Genzebe added her second Cross Country U20 title, and in 2010, the World U20 Championships 5000m gold. She won the 2015

Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fourteen of the best invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF) one-day mee ...

title at the event. She was named Laureus Sportswoman of the Year for 2014, and

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body fo ...

World Female Athlete of the Year in 2015. Genzebe comes from a sporting family of several Olympic medalists, which includes her sisters Tirunesh and Ejegayehu, and her cousin

Derartu Tulu Derartu Tulu NL COL ( om, Daraartuu Tulluu, Amharic: ደራርቱ ቱሉ; born 21 March 1972) is an Ethiopian former long-distance runner, who competed in track, cross country running, and road running up to the marathon distance. She won 10, ...

Background

Genzebe Dibaba is a member of the Oromo ethnic group from the high altitude

Arsi Zone Arsi ( om, Godina Arsii) is a zone in Oromia Region of Ethiopia, named after a clan of the Oromo, who inhabit in the area. Arsi is bordered on the south by Bale Zone, on the southwest by the West Arsi Zone, on the northwest by East Shewa Zone, ...

of the

Oromia Region Oromia (Amharic: ) ( om, Oromiyaa) is a regional state in Ethiopia and the homeland of the Oromo people. The capital of Oromia is Addis Ababa. It is bordered by the Somali Region to the east; the Amhara Region, the Afar Region and the ...

and comes from an athletic family. Her older sister Tirunesh is a celebrated athlete who won many major medals. Another older sister, Ejegayehu, won the silver medal in the

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The ra ...

at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

, and her brother Dejene is also an athlete. Her aunt is

, 1992 and 2000 Olympic champion in 10,000 m.

Career

Genzebe won the junior women's title at both the

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

and

2009 IAAF World Cross Country Championships 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...

and finished fifth in the same event in 2007. She became the second junior woman ever to win two junior cross country championships in a row. She also competed in

IAAF Golden League The IAAF Golden League was an annual series of outdoor track and field meetings organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). Athletes who won specific events at all of the series meetings were awarded a jackpot prize, ...

meetings, including the Reebok Grand Prix and the Oslo

Bislett Games The Bislett Games is an annual track and field meeting at the Bislett Stadium in Oslo, Norway. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Diamond League. History The first international athletics meeting at Bisl ...

. At the 2008 Bislett Games, Genzebe recorded a personal best time of 15:02.41 in the

, during the same race where her sister Tirunesh set a new world record. She did the same a year later in the same race, improving her personal best by more than five seconds.

2009–2010

After winning the 5000 m at the Ethiopian Athletics Championships, she was included in the Ethiopian squad for the 2009 IAAF World Athletics Championships. In Berlin she replaced Tirunesh on Ethiopia's 5000 m team, who withdrew due to injury. Genzebe ran an excellent heat, finishing fourth and qualifying for the final where, in her first major senior championship race, she finished in eighth position. She also won the 5000 m gold at the

2009 African Junior Athletics Championships The 2009 African Junior Athletics Championships were held in Bambous, Mauritius from 30 July to 2 August. There were 40 events in total, of which 20 were contested by male athletes and 20 by female athletes. Multiple gold medallists Caster Semeny ...

. She began her 2009–10 cross country campaign with a win at the

Cross de Atapuerca The Cross Internacional de Atapuerca is an annual cross country running competition that takes place in Atapuerca (town), Atapuerca, Spain. Established in 2004, it takes place in early November and is among the first major competitions of the cros ...

. She also competed indoors, improving her 1500 m best to 4:04.80 at the Indoor Flanders meeting. Despite her wins on the senior circuit, she failed to complete a hat-trick of junior race titles at the 2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. She performed far below expectations, ending up in eleventh and barely making it into the silver medal winning Ethiopian team. Her fortunes improved at the

2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics was an international athletics competition for athletes under the age of 20 which was held at the Moncton Stadium in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada from 19 to 25 July 2010. A total of 44 athlet ...

as she defeated the junior cross country winner

Mercy Cherono Mercy Cherono Koech (born 7 May 1991) is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner. She was the silver medalist in the 5000 metres at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics. She is a two-time world junior champion in the 3000 metres (200 ...

to take the 5000 m gold in a championship record time. In November, she took a second consecutive victory at the Cross de Atapueca, taking a prominent scalp in

Emily Chebet Emily Chebet Muge (born 18 February 1986) is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner who specialises in the 10,000 metres and cross country running. She is a two-time winner of the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, being the gold medall ...

(the reigning senior champion). Genzebe Dibaba Istanbul 2012

2011–2012

She was the runner-up at the Great Edinburgh Cross Country in January 2011 behind

Linet Masai Linet Chepkwemoi Masai (born 5 December 1989) is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner who competes in track and cross country running events. She won her first world title in the 10,000 metres at the 2009 World Championships in Athlet ...

. She placed ninth at the

2011 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 2011 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on March 20, 2011. The races were held at the Polideportivo Antonio Gil Hernández in Punta Umbría, Spain. Reports of the event were given for the IAAF. Preparation The Unit ...

two months later. Genzebe improved her 5000 m best to 14:37.56 minutes at the Bislett Games and went on to place eighth in the event at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics. After this point she began to move away from the 5000 m and focus on the

instead – a move which paid significant dividends for her career. She began 2012 with the fifth fastest ever indoor 1500 m, winning the Weltklasse in Karlsruhe in 4:00.13 minutes. A win at the Aviva Indoor Grand Prix preceded her first world title at the

2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics was the 14th edition of the global-level indoor track and field competition and was held between March 9–11, 2012 at the Ataköy Athletics Arena in Istanbul, Turkey. It was the first of fou ...

. Turning to the outdoor track, Genzebe ran an Ethiopian record time of 3:57.77 minutes at the

Shanghai Golden Grand Prix The Diamond League Shanghai is an annual athletics event at the Shanghai Stadium in Shanghai, China as part of the Diamond League. The meeting was founded as the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix in 2005. The meet assumed its current name in 2010. From ...

. She was third at the Golden Gala and runner-up at the Bislett Games. She was selected for the

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, but a hamstring injury in the final lap of her heat saw her eliminated from the competition.

2013–2014

Genzebe opened 2013 on grass, winning the 3 km competition at the Great Edinburgh Cross Country, then took two indoor wins in Karlsruhe and Birmingham. On 1 February 2014, in Karlsruhe, Germany, Genzebe ran 3:55.17 in the 1500 m indoor event, beating the previous indoor world record by over 3 seconds. This mark was the fastest 1500 m in the world, indoor or outdoor, since 1997. Five days later, she improved the world indoor record in the

3000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000m shoul ...

to 8:16.60 at the XL Galan meet in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropo ...

, Sweden. In that one race, Genzebe improved her own personal record by over thirty seconds, the world record by almost seven, and even though it was set on a shorter track indoors, her time was the number four time at the distance ever. Only on one occasion has the time been bettered, that was the 1993 Chinese National Games, when three athletes

Wang Junxia Wang Junxia (; born January 19, 1973) is a Chinese former long-distance runner who is the current world record holder at 3,000 meters. She also held the world record for the 10,000 meters for 23 years, between 1993 and 2016. Her best years lay b ...

Qu Yunxia Qu Yunxia (; born 25 December 1972 in Dalian) is a Chinese Olympic athlete who specialized in the 1500 metres. At the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona she won a bronze medal in 1500 m. On 9 November 1993 she set the world record in the 1500 ...

and Zhang Linli set the event on its ear, running times that had previously not been approached in two decades. In the month of February and in just 15 days Genzebe broke her third world record at indoor two-mile race at the Birmingham Indoor Grand Prix; nine minutes and 0.48 seconds was her new record that shattered Meseret Defar previous best by six seconds. With these records, Genzebe is one of only three athletes in history to break three world records in three different events within 15 days, joining

Jesse Owens James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens (September 12, 1913March 31, 1980) was an American track and field athlete who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games. Owens specialized in the sprints and the long jump and was recognized in his lif ...

, who set three world records and tied another within 1 hour, and

Usain Bolt Usain St. Leo Bolt, , (; born 21 August 1986) is a retired Jamaican sprinter, widely considered to be the greatest sprinter of all time. He is the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres, and 4 × 100 metres relay. An eight-ti ...

. She stands alone as the only one to do this feat in three different cities and meets, and in all individual events under FAT. In summer

IAAF Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fourteen of the best invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF) one-day mee ...

competition, Genzebe won the 1500 m at Monaco. Genzebe Dibaba, BG2015

2015

During 2015 Genzebe changed shoe sponsor. In February in XL-Galan, Stockholm, she ran for Adidas, and in March in Carlsbad (CA, USA), she had her first official competition in Nike dress in the 5k-race, where she missed the world record by a small margin. The change of sponsor was associated with the change of manager – from Dutch

Jos Hermens Josephus ("Jos") Maria Melchior Hermens (born 8 January 1950 in Nijmegen, Gelderland) is a former Dutch long-distance runner. Subsequently, he also became well-known for his later career as a sports manager as the founder and CEO of Global ...

(Global Sports Communication) to Swedish Ulf Saletti. The manager change happened a few months before the sponsor change. Saletti was a meeting director at Stockholm XL-Galan where she on 19 February 2015 repeated the achievement from the year before by setting a world record, now at the 5000 metres with 14:18.86. Genzebe won the women's 5000 m at the 2015 Prefontaine Classic in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, ...

, in a then-personal best time of 14:19.76. She then went on to win the 5000 m at the Diamond League Meet Areva in Paris on July 4 in a new personal best time of 14:15:41. This was her fifth 5000 metres run under 14:30. Only four days later, in Barcelona, she set a new African record for the 1500 m of 3:54.11
video
, virtually single-handedly running the fastest 1500 m in the world in 18 years and the ninth fastest of all time. Six of the eight fastest times ahead of her occurred in two races at the 1993

Chinese National Games The National Games of the People's Republic of China (), sometimes known as the All China Games (though not to be confused with the All-China Games), is the premier sports event in China at national level. It is usually held once every four ye ...

, where much of the running community believes the communist government was sponsoring a doping scheme in the days before serious drug testing was required. On 17 July 2015 in Monaco, Genzebe broke the 1500 m world record, which had previously been considered near-unbreakable, in a time of 3:50:07. Women's 1500 m podium Beijing 2015

At the World Championships in Beijing, she took the 1500 m title and claimed the bronze medal in the 5000 m event. She was named the

women's

World Athlete of the Year The World Athlete of the Year award is a prize that can be won by athletes participating in events within the sport of athletics organised by World Athletics (formerly named IAAF), including track and field, cross country running, road running, an ...

for 2015.

2016

In February 2016, Genzebe competed in Stockholm's Globen Galan meeting. She ran the indoor mile in 4 minutes and 13.31 seconds, breaking

Doina Melinte Doina Ofelia Melinte (; née Beșliu on 27 December 1956) is a retired Romanian middle-distance runner. She competed at four Olympics (1980–92), and won a gold medal in the 800 metres and a silver medal in the 1500 metres in 1984. She won the ...

's 26-year-old world record of 4:17.14, which had been set in 1990. In April, she pulled out of the Dubai Athletics President's Cup 10,000 m Olympic qualifier race due to an injury in her left foot. In a track meet in Barcelona on 30 June, she failed to finish a 5000 m race due to an injury. She was removed from the track in a wheelchair. At the

, Dibaba run the women's 1500 m. In her heat (one out of 3) she won out of 14 runners in 4:10.61. In the semifinals (one out of 2) she was the fastest runner with 4.03.06. The final was won by Faith Kipyegon in a time of 4:08.92. Genzebe took the silver medal in a time of 4:10.27 and Jenny Simpson placed third for the bronze medal with 4:10.53.

2017

Genzebe broke the 2000 m indoor world record and also the absolute world record, because it lowered the outdoor mark as well, on 7 February 2017 in

Sabadell Sabadell () is a city in Catalonia, Spain. It is in the south of the ''comarca'' of Vallès Occidental and its joint capital (co-capital), on the River Ripoll, north of Barcelona. Sabadell is located above sea level. Sabadell pioneered the I ...

(Spain). She ran the distance in 5:23.75, an improvement on the former indoor best by

Gabriela Szabo Gabriela Szabo (, hu, Szabó Gabriella; born 14 November 1975) is a retired Romanian runner. She competed in the 1500 m and 5000 m events at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics and won a gold, a silver and a bronze medal. Szabo is a three-time world c ...

from 1998 by 6 seconds. The outdoor world record was set by Sonia O'Sullivan with 5:25.36. An illness prevented her from running in her usual form at the

2017 World Athletics Championships Seventeen or 17 may refer to: *17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japanese m ...

, where she finished 12th in the

. and later pulled off from the 5000 m event. Since September she was coached by Hussein Shibo and Tolera Dinka.

2018

At the 2018 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Birmingham, she won the 1500 m and the

3000 m The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000m shoul ...

2019

Genzebe won the Golden Gala 1500 m in Rome on 6 June in a time of 3:56.28. She went to Rabat on 16 June and took victory over the distance in 3:55.47. In the 1500 m Diamond League Final on 29 August in Zürich, Genzebe finished fourth in 4:00.86. The final was won by

Sifan Hassan Sifan Hassan ( om, Siifan Hassan; born 1 January 1993) is an Ethiopian-born Dutch middle- and long-distance runner. She completed an unprecedented triple at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics winning gold medals in both the 5000 metres and 10,000 metres, ...

in 3:57.08,

Konstanze Klosterhalfen Konstanze "Koko" Klosterhalfen (born 18 February 1997) is a German middle- and long-distance runner. She is the 2019 World Championship bronze medallist and 2022 European champion in the 5000 metres, becoming the first German winner of the ev ...

was the runner up with 3:59.02 and Gabriela DeBues-Stafford placed third in 3:59.59.

2020–2022

In her first race of any kind since August 2019, Genzebe won the delayed

Valencia Half Marathon The Valencia Half Marathon ( es, Medio Maratón de Valencia) is an annual half marathon road running event held in Valencia, Spain, since 1988. It is categorized as a Gold Label Road Race by World Athletics. The race is organised by the Valen ...

in December 2020 with a time of 65:18. It was the fastest half marathon debut by a woman in history at the time. On 16 October 2022, she debuted in the

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

at the

Amsterdam Marathon The Amsterdam Marathon (branded Tata Consultancy Services, TCS Amsterdam Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an annual marathon (42.195 km) in Amsterdam in the Netherlands since 1975. The road running, road race has a IAAF Road Race Label Eve ...

, placing second behind

Almaz Ayana Almaz Ayana Eba ( om, Almaaz Ayyanaa Eebbaa; am, አልማዝ አያና ኤባ, born 21 November 1991) is an Ethiopian female long-distance runner. She won the gold medal in the 10,000 metres and bronze for the 5000 metres at the 2016 Rio Olym ...

with a time of 2:18:05, a performance which ranked her in the world all-time top 20.

Achievements

All information taken from

World Athletics World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body fo ...

profile.

Personal bests

International competitions

Circuit wins and titles

Overall winner 5000 m: Diamond blue

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

(1) 1500 m: Shanghai Diamond League ( ) **

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

(1) 5000 m: Shanghai **

(2) 5000 m: Rome Golden Gala, Monaco Herculis **

(3) 5000 m: Eugene Prefontaine Classic (), Oslo Bislett Games, Meeting de Paris (); (1) 1500 m: Monaco ( ) **

(1) 3000 m: Lausanne Athletissima **

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

(1) 5000 m: Eugene; (1) One mile: Lausanne () **

(1) 5000 m: Eugene **

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

(2) 1500 m: Rome, Rabat Meeting ()

References

External links

* * At Home with the Ethiopian Athletics StarTrans World Sport profile {{DEFAULTSORT:Dibaba, Genzebe 1991 births Living people Sportspeople from Oromia Region Ethiopian female long-distance runners Ethiopian female middle-distance runners Olympic female long-distance runners Olympic athletes of Ethiopia Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic silver medalists for Ethiopia Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for Ethiopia World Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Championships winners World Athletics Indoor Championships winners IAAF Continental Cup winners Diamond League winners World Athletics record holders World Athletics indoor record holders Laureus World Sports Awards winners Track & Field News Athlete of the Year winners