Genzebe Dibaba facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Genzebe Dibaba

Genzebe Dibaba in 2016
Personal information
Born	(1991-02-08) 8 February 1991 (age 34) Chefe, Bekoji, Arsi Province, PDR Ethiopia
Height	168 cm
Weight	52 kg
Sport
Country	Ethiopia
Sport	Women's athletics
Event(s)	1500 metres, 3000 metres, 5000 metres
Team	NN Running Team (2023–)
Coached by	Tolera Dinka
Achievements and titles
World finals	2009 5000 m, 8th 2011 5000 m, 8th 2013 1500 m, 7th 2015 1500 m, 1 Gold 5000 m, 3 Bronze 2017 1500 m, 12th
Olympic finals	2012 1500 m, 22nd (h) 2016 1500 m, 2 Silver
Personal best(s)	1500 m: 3:50.07 NR (Monaco 2015) Mile: 4:14.30 NR (Rovereto 2016) 3000 m: 8:21.29 (Palo Alto, CA 2019) 5000 m: 14:15.41 (Paris 2015) Indoors 1000 m: 2:33.06i NR (Madrid 2017) 1500 m: 3:55.17i (Karlsruhe 2014) Mile: 4:13.31i WR (Stockholm 2016) 2000 m: 5:23.75i WB (Sabadell 2017) 3000 m: 8:16.60i WR (Stockholm 2014) Two miles: 9:00.48i WB (Birmingham 2014) 5000 m: 14:18.86i WR (Stockholm 2015)
Medal record Women's athletics Representing  Ethiopia Olympic Games 0 Olympic Games Silver 2016 Rio de Janeiro 1500 m World Championships Gold 2015 Beijing 1500 m Bronze 2015 Beijing 5000 m World Indoor Championships Gold 2012 Istanbul 1500 m Gold 2014 Sopot 3000 m Gold 2016 Portland 3000 m Gold 2018 Birmingham 1500 m Gold 2018 Birmingham 3000 m Continental Cup Gold 2014 Marrakech 3000 m Diamond League 2015 5000 m World Junior Championships Gold 2010 Moncton 5000 m Silver 2008 Bydgoszcz 5000 m World Cross Country Championships Gold 2008 Edinburgh Junior race Gold 2008 Edinburgh Junior team Gold 2009 Amman Junior race Gold 2009 Amman Junior team Silver 2010 Bydgoszcz Junior team Silver 2011 Punta Umbria Senior team Silver 2017 Kampala Mixed relay Bronze 2007 Mombasa Junior team

Genzebe Dibaba Keneni is a famous runner from Ethiopia. She competes in middle and long-distance races. Genzebe won a silver medal in the 1500 metres at the 2016 Rio Olympics. She also earned a gold medal in the 1500 metres and a bronze in the 5000 metres at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics.

Genzebe holds amazing world records for indoor races. These include the one mile, 3,000m, and 5,000m. She has won five World Indoor titles. She was also a very successful junior athlete. In 2015, she won the Diamond League title. Genzebe was named Laureus Sportswoman of the Year in 2014. She was also the IAAF World Female Athlete of the Year in 2015.

Genzebe comes from a family of talented runners. Her sisters, Tirunesh and Ejegayehu, have won Olympic medals. Her cousin, Derartu Tulu, is also an Olympic champion.

Genzebe's Athletic Family

Genzebe Dibaba is part of the Oromo group in Ethiopia. She grew up in the high-altitude Arsi Zone. Her family is full of amazing athletes. Her older sister, Tirunesh, is a very famous runner. Another older sister, Ejegayehu, won a silver medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Her brother, Dejene, is also a runner. Her cousin, Derartu Tulu, won Olympic gold medals in the 10,000m in 1992 and 2000.

Early Career and Junior Success

Genzebe started her running career strong. She won the junior women's title at the 2008 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and 2009 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. She was the second junior woman ever to win two junior cross country championships in a row. In 2008, she ran her best time of 15:02.41 in the 5000 metres. This was in the same race where her sister Tirunesh set a new world record.

Becoming a Senior Champion (2009–2012)

In 2009, Genzebe joined Ethiopia's team for the 2009 IAAF World Athletics Championships. She finished eighth in the 5000m final. This was her first big senior championship race. She also won gold in the 5000m at the 2009 African Junior Athletics Championships.

In 2010, she won the 5000m gold at the 2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics. She set a new championship record. In 2011, Genzebe started focusing more on the 1500 metres race. This change helped her career a lot.

In 2012, she won her first world title at the 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships. She set an Ethiopian record of 3:57.77 minutes in the 1500m. Genzebe was chosen for the 2012 London Olympics. However, a leg injury during her race stopped her from competing further.

Genzebe's first senior world title (1500 m) at the 2012 World Indoor Championships

Breaking World Records (2013–2014)

Genzebe had an amazing year in 2014. On February 1, she ran the 1500m indoor event in 3:55.17. This broke the old indoor world record by more than 3 seconds!

Just five days later, she broke another world indoor record. She ran the 3000 metres in 8:16.60. This was almost seven seconds faster than the previous record. Her time was one of the fastest ever for the distance.

Then, in the same month, Genzebe broke her third world record. She ran the indoor two-mile race in 9 minutes and 0.48 seconds. This beat the old record by six seconds.

Breaking three world records in 15 days is very rare. Only a few athletes in history have done this. Genzebe is the only one to do it in three different cities and events.

Genzebe en route her 3000m gold at the 2014 World Indoor Championships in Sopot

Continued Success and Olympic Medal (2015–2016)

In 2015, Genzebe continued to set records. On February 19, she set a new world record in the 5000 metres with a time of 14:18.86.

She also ran the 1500m in Barcelona in 3:54.11. This was the fastest 1500m time in the world in 18 years. On July 17, 2015, in Monaco, Genzebe broke the 1500m world record. Her time was an incredible 3:50:07.

Genzebe at the Bislett Games in Oslo in 2015

At the 2015 World Championships in Athletics in Beijing, she won the 1500m gold medal. She also took home a bronze medal in the 5000m event. Because of her amazing year, she was named the IAAF World Female Athlete of the Year for 2015.

In February 2016, Genzebe broke another world record. She ran the indoor mile in 4 minutes and 13.31 seconds. This broke a 26-year-old record.

At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Genzebe competed in the women's 1500m. She won her heat and was the fastest in the semifinals. In the final race, she won the silver medal.

Genzebe (center) with Faith Kipyegon (L) and Sifan Hassan (R) at the medal ceremony during the 2015 World Championships in Beijing

Later Career and Marathon Debut (2017–2022)

In 2017, Genzebe broke the 2000m indoor world record. She ran the distance in 5:23.75. This was faster than any previous indoor or outdoor time.

At the 2018 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Birmingham, she won two gold medals. She won both the 1500m and the 3000m races.

In 2019, Genzebe continued to win races. She won the Golden Gala 1500m in Rome and another 1500m race in Rabat.

In December 2020, Genzebe ran her first Half marathon race. She won the Valencia Half Marathon with a time of 65:18. This was the fastest half marathon debut by a woman at that time.

On October 16, 2022, she ran her first full marathon at the Amsterdam Marathon. She finished second with a time of 2:18:05. This amazing performance placed her among the top 20 fastest women marathon runners of all time.

Achievements

Genzebe at the 2014 World Indoor Championships in Sopot

All information taken from World Athletics profile.

Personal Best Times

International Competitions

Representing  Ethiopia

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
2007	World Cross Country Championships	Mombasa, Kenya	5th	Junior race (6 km)	21:23
2008	World Cross Country Championships	Edinburgh, United Kingdom	1st	Junior race (6 km)	19:59
	World Junior Championships	Bydgoszcz, Poland	2nd	5000 m	16:16.75
2009	World Cross Country Championships	Amman, Jordan	1st	Junior race (6 km)	20:14
	African Junior Championships	Bambous, Mauritius	1st	5000 m	16:11.85
	World Championships	Berlin, Germany	8th	5000 m	15:11.12
2010	World Cross Country Championships	Bydgoszcz, Poland	11th	Junior race (6 km)	19:21
	World Junior Championships	Moncton, Canada	1st	5000 m	15:08.06
2011	World Cross Country Championships	Punta Umbría, Spain	9th	Senior race (8 km)	25:36
	World Championships	Daegu, South Korea	8th	5000 m	15:09.35
2012	World Indoor Championships	Istanbul, Turkey	1st	1500 m i	4:05.78
	Olympic Games	London, United Kingdom	22nd (h)	1500 m	4:11.15
2013	World Championships	Moscow, Russia	7th	1500 m	4:05.99
2014	World Indoor Championships	Sopot, Poland	1st	3000 m i	8:55.04
	African Championships	Marrakesh, Morocco	2nd	5000 m	15:42.16
	Continental Cup	Marrakesh, Morocco	1st	3000 m	8:57.53
2015	World Championships	Beijing, China	1st	1500 m	4:08.09
			3rd	5000 m	14:44.14
2016	World Indoor Championships	Portland, United States	1st	3000 m i	8:47.43
	Olympic Games	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	2nd	1500 m	4:10.27
2017	World Cross Country Championships	Kampala, Uganda	2nd	Mixed relay (8 km)	22:30
	World Championships	London, United Kingdom	12th	1500 m	4:06.72
2018	World Indoor Championships	Birmingham, United Kingdom	1st	1500 m i	4:05.27
			1st	3000 m i	8:45.05

Circuit Wins and Titles

• Diamond League Overall winner 5000 m: 2015
  • 2012 (1) 1500 m: Shanghai Diamond League (MR NR)
  • 2013 (1) 5000 m: Shanghai
  • 2014 (2) 5000 m: Rome Golden Gala, Monaco Herculis
  • 2015 [4]: (3) 5000 m: Eugene Prefontaine Classic (MR), Oslo Bislett Games, Meeting de Paris (MR); (1) 1500 m: Monaco (DLR WR)
  • 2016 (1) 3000 m: Lausanne Athletissima
  • 2017 [2]: (1) 5000 m: Eugene; (1) One mile: Lausanne (MR)
  • 2018 (1) 5000 m: Eugene
  • 2019 (2) 1500 m: Rome, Rabat Meeting (MR)

See also

In Spanish: Genzebe Dibaba para niños