Tirunesh Dibaba

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Tirunesh Dibaba (, Amharic: ጥሩነሽ ዲባባ ቀነኒ; born 1 June 1985) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner athlete who competes in long-distance track events and international road races. She has won three Olympic track gold medals, five World Championship track gold medals, four individual World Cross Country (WCC) adult titles, and one individual WCC junior title. Tirunesh was the 5,000 metres (outdoor track) world record holder until 2020. She is nicknamed the "baby-faced destroyer."

At the 2005 IAAF World Championships in Helsinki, Finland, Tirunesh became the first woman to win the 5000 m and 10000 m at the same championship. She is the one of two women (the other Sonia O'Sullivan) who won the short and long course World Cross Country title at the same championship (2005 in Saint-Galmier, France). With her 2003 World championship title, she became the youngest World Champion at the age of 18 years and 90 days.

Tirunesh comes from a sporting family of several Olympic medalists, which includes her sisters Genzebe, Ejegayehu and Anna, and her cousin, Derartu Tulu. The matriarch of the Dibaba athletics dynasty, Tirunesh is the most decorated of the family.

Background Tirunesh was born in the village of Bekoji, Arsi Zone of the Oromia Region and the fourth of six children. She is of Oromo descent. She began competing in athletics at the age of 14. Tirunesh and Genzebe are the only siblings in history to hold concurrent world records. Their cousin, Derartu Tulu, won gold medals in the 10,000 metres at the 1992 and 2000 Summer Olympics, the bronze medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2004 Summer Olympics, the silver medal in the 10,000 metres at the 1995 World Championships, and the gold medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2001 World Championships.

2003: First World Championships gold medal

In May, Tirunesh won the only Ethiopian national track championship of her senior career. The event was the 5000 metres, with Meseret Defar finishing second.

In Paris at her World Championships debut, Tirunesh won the 5000 metres in a sprint finish against Marta Dominguez of Spain and Edith Masai of Kenya. This made her the youngest athlete to win an individual gold medal at the World Championships. At age 19, she became the youngest-ever medalist for Ethiopia at the Olympics.

2005: Double gold medalist at the World Championships

At the Reebok Boston Indoor Games in January, Tirunesh set a world record in the 5000 meters with a finish time of 14:32.93. This was 6.36 seconds faster than the previous world record set by Berhane Adere. Finishing second was Tirunesh's sister Ejegayehu, over 25 seconds behind. She faded during the last 1000 metres after running with Tirunesh through 4000 metres in a hand-timed 11:46.2. Tirunesh's 1000 metre splits were 2:56.0 - 2:55.2 - 3:00.0 - 2:55.0 - 2:46.8. Just before these races, Tirunesh said, "When I won [the 2003 World Championships] in Paris, everybody called me the 'little girl'. I am no longer that little girl. I have matured and certainly am afraid of no one during competition." She also won the 5000 metres at the World Athletics Final. Tirunesh and Meseret Defar raced against each other in five of those seven races, with Tirunesh winning four times.

Defar defeated Tirunesh in the 5000 metres at the African Championships in Bambous, Mauritius, and in the 3000 metres at the World Athletics Final.

2007: Successful defense of 10,000 metres World Championship

Tirunesh celebrating her 10,000 metres victory at the 2007 World Championships.

Tirunesh earned a US$25,000 bonus for breaking her own 5000 metres indoor world record at the Reebok Boston Indoor Games on 27 January, with a finish time of 14:27.42. Tirunesh's 1000 metre split times were 2:55.28 - 2:53.2 - 2:51.5 - 2:56.68 - 2:46.4. She held this record until Meseret Defar broke it on 18 February 2009 in Stockholm with a finish time of 14:24.37. whose second-place finish here was expunged in 2017 for doping. Tirunesh won despite having a mid-race tumble and abdominal pains throughout the race. Tirunesh's finish time was 31:55.41. She thus became the only woman to win consecutive 10,000 metre titles at the World Championships. She did not compete in the 5000 metres.

2008: Double gold medalist at the Beijing Olympics & 5000 metres world record

At the 6 June Bislett Games in Oslo, a Golden League event, Tirunesh Dibaba set a world record in the 5,000 metres which would stand for over twelve years, running the distance in 14:11.15. Lucy Wangui Kabuu from Kenya ran a personal best and finished in second place, 22 seconds behind Tirunesh. Tirunesh's sister Ejegayehu Dibaba finished in third place with a time of 14:36.78 (4.04 seconds off her personal best). Tirunesh bettered Meseret Defar's world record by 5.48 seconds. Tirunesh said after the race, "I've been thinking about this for a long time and this is a very special day for me. I was trying my best, and I knew I was going to break the record with two laps to go. The early part of the race was pretty good, but at 3,000 metres we were a little behind, so then I had to catch up on the pace. I could have run faster if the pacing was a little better."

Dibaba won the 10,000 metres at the Summer Olympics in Beijing on 15 August. Her finish time of 29:54.66 broke the existing Olympic record of 30:17.49, which had been set by cousin Derartu Tulu at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. In addition, her finish time was the second fastest 10,000 metres of all time and an African record. The previous African record of 30:04.18 was set by Berhane Adere at the 2003 World Championships.

Seven days later, Tirunesh won the 5000 metres, defeating the defending champion Meseret Defar by 2.72 seconds. This made Tirunesh the first woman to win both the 5,000 and the 10,000 metres at the same Olympic games.

Tirunesh was named the 2008 Athlete of the Year by Track & Field News. The IAAF awarded its Female Performance of the Year to Tirunesh and Czech javelin thrower Barbora Špotáková. Tirunesh was nominated for IAAF World Athlete of the Year, which was won instead by Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva for the third time.

2009: World record at 15 kilometres during injury-shortened season

Injuries prevented Tirunesh from competing in the World Cross Country Championships in Amman, Jordan and the World Championships in Berlin.

On 15 November, Tirunesh won the Zevenheuvelenloop 15 kilometres road race in Nijmegen, Netherlands in a world best time of 46:28. This bettered Kayoko Fukushi's previous world best by almost half a minute. (Tirunesh's record was broken by Florence Kiplagat on 15 February 2015.

2010

In February, Tirunesh ran the third fastest indoor two-mile race to date (9:12.23) at the Aviva Grand Prix in Birmingham, U.K. Her mile splits were 4:41.2 followed by 4:31.1.

At the World Cross Country Championships in Bydgoszcz, Tirunesh finished fourth.

Tirunesh successfully defended her 10,000 metres title at the African Championships in Nairobi with a finish time of 31:51.39. Her last 400 metres was timed at 61 seconds.

2012: Successful defense of 10,000 metres Olympic gold medal

A stress fracture in her right leg kept Tirunesh out of competition for 16 months. She returned to racing on 31 December 2011 to win the 10 kilometre San Silvestre Vallecana Silver Label Road Race in Madrid, Spain by overcoming Gelete Burka in a sprint finish.

She won the two-mile race at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston on 4 February and took her second career win at the Carlsbad 5000 road race in April.

On 1 June in her first outdoor track race of the year, she won the 10,000 metres at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon, United States, a Diamond League event, by holding off Florence Kiplagat at the finish line.

At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, she successfully defended her 10,000 metres title with a powerful performance over the final 600 metres, winning in a time of 30:20.75. This was the fastest of the year by any female athlete. This made her the first woman to win consecutive Olympic 10,000 metres titles. After the win, she said, "I have never been happier than today – this is even better than in Beijing". In the 5000 metres, she finished third behind gold medalist Meseret Defar and silver medalist Vivian Cheruiyot, thus failing to repeat her 5,000/10,000 double from the 2008 Olympics. After the race, Tirunesh said, "I'm not very pleased today. I gave it a good shot, but I wasn't aiming for bronze. I'm a bit disappointed."

Tirunesh closed her year on 18 November with a win at the ABN-AMRO Zevenheuvelenloop in Nijmegen, Netherlands, setting the fastest time that season for the 15 kilometre distance.

2013: Third World Championship in the 10,000 metres

In February, Tirunesh hoped to break the indoor 2 mile world record at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston. Her pacer, however, quit at the 1 kilometre mark, and she finished in 9:13.17, seven seconds off the record. Tirunesh said after the race, "With this first race [of the year], I am happy. But I could have run faster with better pacing--9:03 or 9:04. I would have liked to have broken the meet record.... Running alone is a bit tough. When I broke the world record at 5000 meters, I had good pacemakers."

Tirunesh had planned to run the London Marathon on 21 April, but an injury to the bottom of her heel forced postponement of her debut at this distance.

She was in good form in May at the Great Manchester Run, setting a course record and an Ethiopian record of 30:49 to win this 10 kilometre road race.

On 1 June, Tirunesh won the 5000 metres at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, a Diamond League event that doubled as Ethiopia's trials for the World Championships. Her finish time of 14:42.01 was one-half second faster than second-place finisher Mercy Cherono of Kenya. Tirunesh also finished ahead of five countrywomen, including London Olympian Belaynesh Oljira.

Tirunesh on 27 June ran her last 10,000 metre race before the World Championships at the Golden Spike Ostrava in the Czech Republic. She won with a finishing time of 30:26.67, with Gladys Cherono Kiprono of Kenya finishing second in 30:29.23 and Belaynesh Oljira finishing third.

Just nine days later on 6 July at the Diamond League meeting in Paris, Tirunesh clocked the fastest 5000 metres by any woman since 2008: 14:23.68.

Tirunesh was the favourite to win the 10,000 metres at the World Championships in Moscow. She shadowed the leaders during the race until taking the lead with 500 metres remaining and sprinting to her fifth individual World Championships gold medal. Her finish time was 30:43.45, with her last 400 metres clocked at 59.98 seconds.

Three days later in Tilburg, Netherlands, Tirunesh attempted to break Paula Radcliffe's 10 kilometer road race world record of 30:21. Although Tirunesh fell short by 9 seconds, her 30:30 finish time was the fourth fastest ever and broke Gladys Cherono Kiprono's 2012 course record by 27 seconds. Tirunesh also broke the Ethiopian national record (and her previous personal best) by 19 seconds.

Tirunesh's final race of the season was the Great North Run in northern England on 15 September, where she was the defending champion. The race was billed as a "showdown" between Tirunesh and Defar. However, the winner of the 2013 London Marathon and silver medalist at the 2012 London Olympics, Priscah Jeptoo from Kenya, won the race in the third fastest time ever for a half marathon (1:05.45). Only Radcliffe and Kenya's Susan Chepkemei had run faster. Defar finished second with a personal best and Tirunesh third in a personal best time of 1:06:55.

2014–2015: Marathon debut followed by motherhood

Tirunesh made her marathon debut at the 2014 London Marathon. She finished third in a time of 2:20:35, 14 seconds behind winner Edna Kiplagat and 11 seconds behind Florence Kiplagat (unrelated). Dibaba stopped briefly near the 30 kilometre mark to pick up a dropped water bottle.

After becoming pregnant with her first child, Tirunesh announced on 5 November that she would skip the 2015 season. Tirunesh gave birth to a son in March 2015.

In perhaps the greatest 10,000 metres race of all time, Tirunesh ran the fourth fastest time in history while winning the bronze medal. Her finish time of 29:42.56 was 12.1 seconds faster than her previous personal best of 29:54.66, which she set at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Teammate Almaz Ayana smashed Wang Junxia's 22 year old (and controversial) world record (29:31.78) by 14.33 seconds on her way to the gold medal in a time of 29:17.45. Silver medalist Vivian Cheruiyot of Kenya came within 0.75 seconds of Wang's world record while running the third fastest time (29:32.53) in history. Fourth place finisher Alice Aprot Nawowuna of Kenya ran the fifth fastest time (29:53.51) in history. (She led the race for the first 5000 metres, reaching that mark in a very quick 14:46.81.) The next 9 finishers each set an area record (Molly Huddle of the U.S.), a national record (Cheruiyot of Kenya, Sarah Lahti of Sweden, Diane Nukuri of Burundi), or a personal best. National records for Greece, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan also were broken. Before this race, a woman had finished a 10,000 metres race in under 30 minutes only five times - but four did so in this race. Ayana broke open the race at the 4000 metres mark, running her next 1000 metres in 2:49.18. This was the third consecutive 10,000 metres race that Ayana had defeated Tirunesh. Tirunesh's 1000 metre splits were as follows: 1000 metres: 3:31.43 (20th position) 2000 metres: 3:18.88 (6:50.31) (17th) 3000 metres: 3:09.37 (9:59.68) (2nd) 4000 metres: 3:04.66 (13:04.34) (6th) 5000 metres: 2:56.30 (16:00.64) (6th) 6000 metres: 2:59.86 (19:00.50) (6th) 7000 metres: 3:02.10 (22:02.60) (4th) 8000 metres: 3:05.70 (25:08.30) (5th) 9000 metres: 3:04.41 (28:12.71) (4th) Finish: 2:49.98 (31:02.69) (2nd) Last 5000 metres: 15:02.05

Tirunesh committed to run the Chicago Marathon on 8 October. She won a gold medal during the 40th edition of the marathon, with a time of 2:18:30.

2018 Tirunesh again ran the London Marathon in April, but failed to finish. She won the Great Manchester Run road 10K for the third consecutive time and fifth time overall the following month. She finished third in the Berlin Marathon with a time of 2:18:55 in September. Tirunesh placed sixth at the Delhi Half Marathon in October and ran the San Silvestre Vallecana road 10k in Madrid on 31 December.

2023 The 37-year-old returned after giving birth to a third child running her first race since December 2018 at the Houston Half Marathon in January. She finished 16th with a time of 71:35.

Personal life Tirunesh is married to 2004 and 2008 Olympic 10,000 meter silver medallist Sileshi Sihine and they have a son, Nathan Sileshi, born in March 2015. She gave birth to a second child named Allon. She had a third child in 2021.

After the Beijing Olympics, her club, the Prisons Police, bestowed the rank of Chief Superintendent for her services to club and country. Tirunesh has an honorary doctorate from Addis Ababa University, and has a hospital on the outskirts of Addis Ababa named after her.

She has ventured into the hotel industry by establishing an eponymous Three Star hotel, which was set to open at the end of 2013.

Results

Olympics (outdoor) In these track races at the Olympics, Tirunesh's win–loss record against the following women is as follows:

Diamond League, Golden League (outdoor track) Since 2010, the Diamond League has been an annual series of athletics meetings organised by the IAAF around the world. The Golden League was an annual series of athletics meetings organised by the IAAF in Europe from 1998 through 2009.

In these Golden League and Diamond League races, Dibaba's win–loss record against the following women is as follows:

Other outdoor track & cross country races

In these outdoor track and cross country races, Dibaba's win–loss record against the following women is as follows:

Personal bests

Outdoor As of 29 June 2017, Dibaba's outdoor personal bests are as follows:

Event Mark Date Meet & Location Notes 3000 metres (track) 8:29.55 28 July 2006 London Grand PrixLondon, United Kingdom 3 kilometres (road) 9:16 18 May 2014 BUPA Great Manchester Run (10 kilometres)Manchester, England Intermediate time in a longer race. 5000 metres (track) 14:11.15 6 June 2008 Bislett GamesOslo, Norway Former World record. 5 kilometres (road) 14:51 3 April 2005 Carlsbad 5000Carlsbad, United States -- 10,000 metres (track) 29:42.56 12 August 2016 OlympicsRio de Janeiro, Brazil Seventh fastest of all time. 10 kilometres (road) 30:30 1 September 2013 Tilburg Ten MilesTilburg, Netherlands 15 kilometres (road) 46:28 15 November 2009 ZevenheuvelenloopNijmegen, Netherlands (1) Former world record. (2) Fourth fastest of all time. 23 October 2016 Great South RunPortsmouth, England 20 kilometres (road) 1:03:25 10 February 2017 Ras Al Khaimah Half MarathonRas al-Khaimah, United Arab Emirates Intermediate time in a longer race. Half marathon (road) 1:06:50 10 February 2017 Ras Al Khaimah Half MarathonRas al-Khaimah, United Arab Emirates Marathon (road) 2:17:56 23 April 2017 London MarathonLondon, United Kingdom (1) Twelfth fastest of all time. 5000 metres 14:27.42 27 January 2007 Reebok Boston Indoor Games Boston (1) Third fastest of all time. (2) Former world record.