The world record holder in the 1500m and indoor mile — Tirunesh's younger sister who carved out her own legacy with world records at multiple distances, a World Championship title and an indoor dominance that is unmatched in the history of women's middle distance running.
Genzebe Dibaba was born in Bekoji, Ethiopia in 1991, younger sister of Olympic champion Tirunesh Dibaba, and became the greatest 1500m runner in history — setting a world record of 3:50.07 in Monaco in July 2015 that shattered the previous record by over a second. She also holds the mile world record of 4:13.31 set in Stockholm three weeks later. She competed from 2008. She won Olympic gold in the 1500m at Rio 2016. She won World Championship titles in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2019 — 4 gold medals in the 1500m. She won multiple World Indoor Championship titles at 1500m and 3000m. Her personal bests of 8:16.60 for 3000m and 14:15.41 for 5000m demonstrate versatility beyond her specialist event. She is the only woman in history to hold world records at both the 1500m and mile simultaneously. Her family background — sister Tirunesh, cousin Derartu Tulu both Olympic champions — and her training in the Bekoji region of Ethiopia under the guidance of Sentayehu Eshetu places her in the centre of the most productive distance running talent pool in athletics history.
Middle-distance running dominance and world records
How They Played
Explosive kick, tactical awareness, versatile distances
Lasting Impact
One of greatest middle-distance runners, multiple world records
Olympic Gold 1500m Rio 2016
Career Honours
- Olympic Gold 1500m Rio 2016
- World Champion 1500m 2013, 2014, 2015, 2019
- World Indoor Champion 1500m, 3000m multiple
- World Record 1500m (3:50.07), Mile (4:13.31)
- World Cross Country Silver 2012
- Diamond League Champion 1500m 2016, 2017