Tirunesh Dibaba
 Dibaba celebrating her 10,000 m victory at the 2007 World Championships. | ||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Women's athletics | ||
| Olympic Games | ||
 |
2004 Athens | 5000 m |
| World Championships | ||
 |
2003 Paris | 5000 m |
|
2005 Helsinki | 5000 m |
|
2005 Helsinki | 10000 m |
|
2007 Osaka | 10000 m |
| World Cross Country Championships | ||
|
2003 Lausanne | Junior |
|
2005 Saint-Galmier | Short course |
|
2005 Saint-Galmier | Long course |
|
2006 Fukuoka | Long course |
|
2008 Edinburgh | Women's race |
 |
2007 Mombasa | Women's race |
Tirunesh Dibaba (born June 1, 1985 in Arsi, Ethiopia) is an Ethiopian long distance track athlete and both the outdoor[1] and indoor 5000 metres world record holder.
Born in the village of Chefe, Tirunesh was the 4th of 6 children and was raised in the high-altitude Arsi Zone of the Oromia Region. She began doing athletics at the age of 14. She moved to the capital Addis Ababa in 2000.
Tirunesh is part of an athletic family, with older sister Ejegayehu also making her mark on the international stage and brother Dejene marked as a future star. Their sister Genzebe won the junior race at the 2008 World Cross Country Championships[2]. 1992 Olympic champion Derartu Tulu is also their cousin.
International Performances
Tirunesh's first fully-international outdoor track event was the 2001 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. Running at the age of 15 in women's junior race, she finished 5th.
Tirunesh's most prestigious performances so far have come in the world championships athletics events of 2003, 2005 and 2007. In 2003, Tirunesh won the 5,000 m in a sprint finish against Marta Dominguez of Spain and Edith Masai of Kenya. At the 2005 championships, Tirunesh produced a blistering finish to out-sprint compatriot Berhane Adere and her own sister Ejegayehu and also became the first woman to win the 10,000/5000 m double at the same champinships. In 2007, when the championships were held in Osaka, Tirunesh again utilised her sprint finish to overhaul Turkey's Elvan Abeylegesse, thus becoming the only woman to win back-to-back 10,000 m titles. In Osaka, Tirunesh won with a time of 31:55.41.
At the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Tirunesh was beaten into third place by Meseret Defar of Ethiopia and Isabella Ochichi of Kenya. The result was considered by some to be a disappointment but at 19, she still became the youngest ever medalist for Ethiopia at the Olympics.
In 2006 she won five out of six Golden League events (5,000 m) in the same season, which earned her a total of $83,333.
A major feature of Tirunesh's running style is an incredible sprint finish. During the final lap of the 10,000 m in 2005, Tirunesh was clocked over the closing 400 m in 58.33 seconds. Tirunesh is known for not taking the lead in a race until the final lap.
Tirunesh is also a remarkably successful cross country runner; she has four IAAF World Cross Country Championships victories, including one junior title (Lausanne, 2003), one short course title (Saint-Galmier, 2005), and two long course titles (Saint-Galmier, 2005, and Fukuoka, 2006). From 2007, there was just one race in each category. Dibaba won the silver in the women's race at Mombasa in 2007 and the gold at Edinburgh in 2008.
Dibaba created a new 5000 metres world record, 14 minutes 11.15 seconds, at the Oslo Golden League 2008 meeting.[1]
Meseret Defar
Tirunesh is known to have an on-track rivalry with Meseret Defar, and races featuring the two are highly anticipated, but rare, usually, only occurring at championships.
Video Interview
- Video Interview of Tirunesh Dibaba after the 100th Millrose Games
- Video Interview of Tirunesh Dibaba before and after 2007 IAAF World Championships 10,000m
Quotes
- "I did it for my country. I was struggling but I told myself to hang in. I didn't want to let down the people back home in Ethiopia." - after a historic come from behind win world championships
- "If it hadn't been a matter of representing my country, I would have dropped out." - After falling on the track during 2007 race.
