Tirfi Tsegaye Beyene (born 25 November 1984) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who competes in marathon races. She has won the

Berlin Marathon The Berlin Marathon (german: Berlin-Marathon, ) is a marathon event held annually on the streets of Berlin, Germany on the last weekend of September. Held annually since 1974, the event includes multiple races over the marathon distance of , inc ...

, the

Paris Marathon The Paris Marathon (french: Marathon de Paris) is an annual marathon hosted by the city of Paris, France. It is the marathon with the second-most finishers in the world, behind the New York City Marathon. The marathon begins along the Champs ...

(in a course record), the

Tokyo Marathon The is an annual marathon sporting event in Tokyo, the capital of Japan. It is a World Athletics Platinum Label marathon and one of the six World Marathon Majors. The latest edition of the race took place on . It is sponsored by Tokyo Metro. H ...

(also in course-record time), and the

Dubai Marathon The Dubai Marathon is an annual road-based marathon hosted by Dubai, United Arab Emirates, since 1998. The marathon is categorized as a Gold Label Road Race by World Athletics. History Initial era The inaugural Dubai Marathon was held ...

. Her personal best of 2:20:18 hours came as winner of the 2014 Berlin Marathon.

Career

Born in

Bekoji Bekoji ( Oromo: Boqojjii, Amharic: በቆጂ) is a town in central Ethiopia. Located in the Arsi Zone of the Oromia Region, it has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 2810 m. It is the administrative centre of Limuna Bilbilo woreda ...

in Ethiopia's

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 Benis ...

, she comes from a town renowned for producing world class runners such as

Kenenisa Bekele Kenenisa Bekele ( om, Qananiisaa baqqalaa; am, ቀነኒሳ በቀለ; born 13 June 1982) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. He was the world record holder in both the 5000-metre and 10000-metre from 2004 (5,000m) and 2005 (10,000m) unti ...

and

Tirunesh Dibaba Tirunesh Dibaba ( om, Xirunesh Dibaabaa, Amharic: ጥሩነሽ ዲባባ ቀነኒ; born 1 June 1985) is an Ethiopian athlete who competed in long-distance track events and international road races. She has won three Olympic track gold medal ...

. In one of her first major races, Tirfi won the

Porto Marathon The Porto Marathon is an annual marathon race in the city of Porto, Portugal, held in October or November, since 2004. Along with the marathon, several races of shorter distances are arranged as well. The marathon is sponsored by Energias de Portu ...

in 2008 with a time of 2:35:31 hours. She improved her best to 2:29:04 hours with a runner-up finish at the 2009

Turin Marathon The Turin Marathon ( it, Maratona di Torino Gran Premio La Stampa) is an annual marathon race which takes place in Turin, Italy in November. History The first edition of the modern race was held in 1987, although other marathon competitions have ...

and then bettered that with a run of 2:28:16 hours for second at the Shanghai Marathon. She also made her debut over the

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcut ...

at the

2009 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships The 2009 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships was held in Birmingham, United Kingdom on 11 October 2009. It was the final event of the International Association of Athletics Federations' 2009 World Athletics Series. Organisation The city of B ...

, where her run of 1:09:24 brought her sixth place and a team silver medal with Ethiopia. Tirfi was runner-up to Atsede Baysa at the 2010

Paris Half Marathon Paris Half Marathon (''French: Semi-marathon de Paris''), known as the Harmonie Mutuelle Semi de Paris for sponsorship reasons, is an annual half marathon held every March in Paris, France since 1993. Kenya's Stanley Biwott is the men's course ...

, then finished behind her again at the

a month later, although Tirfi's time of 2:24:51 hours for third place was a significant personal best. She again made the podium at the

Toronto Waterfront Marathon The Toronto Waterfront Marathon is an annual marathon held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in October. The race day also includes a half marathon and 5 km race. The race has quickly become an elite level marathon and is one of just five World ...

, setting another best of 2:22:44 hours and finishing second behind Sharon Cherop. She was also runner-up at the Shanghai Marathon for the second year running, beaten to the title by Nailiya Yulamanova. She was invited to compete at the 2011 Boston Marathon and she finished in eleventh in the high-profile race. She came fifth at that year's Lille Half Marathon then was three seconds behind Shanghai Marathon winner

Haile Lema Kebebush Haile ( Ge'ez "the power of") may refer to: ;People with the given name Haile * Haile Selassie of Ethiopia (1892–1975), Emperor of Ethiopia * Haile Gerima (born 1946), Ethiopian filmmaker * Haile Gebrselassie (born 1973), Ethiopian distance runne ...

in December with her time of 2:24:11 hours (her third straight second-place finish at the race). At the Roma-Ostia Half Marathon in February 2012 she ran a personal best of 1:07:42 hours for third place. She was the pre-race favourite for the Paris Marathon and delivered on the status by winning the race in a course record and personal best time of 2:21:39 hours, over three minutes ahead of runner-up

Sultan Haydar Sultan Haydar (; born May 23, 1985 in Golerogi, Ethiopia) is an Ethiopian-born Turkish long-distance runner. The tall athlete at is a member of Enkaspor, where she is coached by Nikola Borić. Born Chaltu Girma Meshesha in Ethiopia, she star ...

. Running alongside her training partner,

Aberu Kebede Aberu Kebede Shewaye (born 12 September 1989) is an Ethiopian long distance runner who specializes in road running competitions. Her half marathon best of 1:07:39 is one of the fastest ever by an Ethiopian woman. She gained a bronze at the 2009 I ...

, she was runner-up at the 2012 Berlin Marathon with a personal best time of 2:21:19 hours. In January 2013, she won the

despite the heavy fog during the race, with a time of 2:23:23, 16 seconds ahead of runner-up Ehitu Kiros. She performed less well in her second race of the year, coming seventh at the Frankfurt Marathon in 2:26:57 hours. She won the 2014 Berlin Marathon, held on 28 September 2014, in a personal best time of 2:20:18.Mulkeen, Jon & Minshull, Phil (2014-09-28)
Kimetto breaks marathon world record in Berlin with 2:02:57
IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-10-03.

References

External links

*
Marathon Info profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tsegaye, Tirfi Living people 1984 births Ethiopian female long-distance runners Ethiopian female marathon runners Sportspeople from Oromia Region World Athletics Championships athletes for Ethiopia Tokyo Marathon female winners Berlin Marathon female winners Paris Marathon female winners Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Ethiopia 21st-century Ethiopian women