Genzebe Dibaba

Genzebe Dibaba Keneni (Oromo: Ganzabee Dibaabaa Qananii); (Amharic: ገንዘቤ ዲባባ ቀነኒ; born 8 February 1991) is an Ethiopian middle- and long-distance runner. She won the gold medal in the 1500 m at the Beijing World Championships and a silver medal in the 1500 meters at the 2016 Olympics. Genzebe is the current world record holder for the 1500 m (both indoor and outdoor), the indoor 3000 m, the indoor 5000 m, and the indoor mile. Her 2000 m indoor women's world's best time is the absolute world record, as it is faster than the previous women's outdoor mark. Genzebe holds the distinction of possessing the most world records by one individual in track history, with her current haul of seven, plus one world best.

Genzebe Dibaba

Genzebe Dibaba in 2016
Personal information
Nationality	Ethiopian
Born	8 February 1991[1] Bekoji, Ethiopia[1]
Height	168 cm (5 ft 6 in)[1]
Weight	52 kg (115 lb)[1]
Sport
Country	Ethiopia
Sport	Women's athletics
Event(s)	1500 metres, 3000 metres, 5000 metres
Coached by	Tolera Dinka
Achievements and titles
World finals	2009 5000 m, 8th 2011 5000 m, 8th 2013 1500 m, 7th 2015 1500 m,  Gold 5000 m,  Bronze 2017 1500 m, 12th
Olympic finals	2012 1500 m, 22nd (h) 2016 1500 m,  Silver
Personal best(s)	Outdoor [2] 800 m: 1:59.37 (Doha 2017) 1500 m: 3:50.07 WR (Monaco 2015) Mile: 4:14.30 AR (Rovereto 2016) 2000 m: 5:27.50 AR (Ostrava 2014) 3000 m: 8:21.29 (Palo Alto 2019) 5000 m: 14:15.41 (Paris 2015) Indoor [2] 1000 m: 2:33.06i NR (Madrid 2017) 1500 m: 3:55.17i WR (Karlsruhe 2014) Mile: 4:13.31i WR (Stockholm 2016) 2000 m: 5:23.75i WR (Sabadell 2017) 3000 m: 8:16.60i WR (Stockholm 2014) 2-mile: 9:00.48i WR (Birmingham 2014) 5000 m: 14:18.86i WR (Stockholm 2015)
Medal record Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 0 1 0 World Championships 1 0 1 World Indoor Championships 5 0 0 World Cross Country Championships 4 3 1 World Junior Championships 1 1 0 Total 11 5 2 Olympic Games 2016 Rio de Janeiro 1500 m World Championships 2015 Beijing 1500 m 2015 Beijing 5000 m World Indoor Championships 2012 Istanbul 1500 m 2014 Sopot 3000 m 2016 Portland 3000 m 2018 Birmingham 1500 m 2018 Birmingham 3000 m Continental Cup 2014 Marrakech 3000 m World Junior Championships 2010 Moncton 5000 m 2008 Bydgoszcz 5000 m World Cross Country Championships 2008 Edinburgh Junior race 2008 Edinburgh Junior team 2009 Amman Junior race 2009 Amman Junior team 2010 Bydgoszcz Junior team 2011 Punta Umbria Senior team 2017 Kampala Mixed relay 2007 Mombasa Junior team

Genzebe was the 2012 World Indoor Champion for the 1500 m and the 2014 World Indoor Champion in the 3000 m. She represented Ethiopia at the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics and has competed at the World Athletics Championships on five occasions. She was highly successful as a junior (under-20) athlete, having won two junior World Cross Country titles and one world junior 5000 m gold medal. She was named Laureus Sportswoman of the Year for 2014[3] and IAAF World Athlete of the Year in 2015.[4]

She is from a sporting family several Olympic medalists, which includes her sisters Tirunesh and Ejegayehu, and her aunt Derartu Tulu.

Background

Genzebe Dibaba is a member of the Oromo Ethnic group from the high altitude Arsi Zone of the Oromia Region and comes from an athletic family. Her older sister Tirunesh is a celebrated athlete who won many major medals. Another older sister, Ejegayehu, won the silver medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2004 Summer Olympics, and her brother Dejene is also an athlete. Her aunt is Derartu Tulu, 1992 and 2000 Olympic champion in 10,000 m.[5]

Career

Genzebe won the junior women's title at both the 2008[6] and 2009 IAAF World Cross Country Championships[7] and finished fifth in the same event in 2007. Dibaba became the second junior woman ever to win two junior cross country championships in a row. She also competed in IAAF Golden League meetings, including the Reebok Grand Prix and the Oslo Bislett Games. At the 2008 Bislett Games she recorded a personal best time of 15:02.41 in the 5000 metres, during the same race where her sister Tirunesh set a new world record.[8] She did the same a year later in the same race, improving her personal best by more than five seconds.

2009–2010

After winning the 5000 m at the Ethiopian Athletics Championships, she was included in the Ethiopian squad for the 2009 IAAF World Athletics Championships. In Berlin she replaced Tirunesh on Ethiopia's 5000 m team, who withdrew due to injury. Genzebe ran an excellent heat, finishing fourth and qualifying for the final where, in her first major senior championship race, she finished in eighth position. She also won the 5000 m gold at the 2009 African Junior Athletics Championships.

She began her 2009–10 cross country campaign with a win at the Cross de Atapuerca.[9] She also competed indoors, improving her 1500 m best to 4:04.80 at the Indoor Flanders meeting.[10] Despite her wins on the senior circuit, she failed to complete a hat-trick of junior race titles at the 2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. She performed far below expectations, ending up in eleventh and barely making it into the silver medal winning Ethiopian team.[11] Her fortunes improved at the 2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics as she defeated the junior cross country winner Mercy Cherono to take the 5000 m gold in a championship record time.[12] In November she took a second consecutive victory at the Cross de Atapueca, taking a prominent scalp in Emily Chebet (the reigning senior champion).[13]

2011–2012

She was the runner-up at the Great Edinburgh Cross Country in January 2011 behind Linet Masai.[14] She placed ninth at the 2011 IAAF World Cross Country Championships two months later.

Genzebe improved her 5000 m best to 14:37.56 minutes at the Bislett Games and went on to place eighth in the event at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics. After this point she began to move away from the 5000 m and focus on the 1500 metres instead – a move which paid significant dividends for her career. She began 2012 with the fifth fastest ever indoor 1500 m, winning the Weltklasse in Karlsruhe in 4:00.13 minutes.[15] A win at the Aviva Indoor Grand Prix preceded her first world title at the 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships.[16] Turning to the outdoor track, she ran an Ethiopian record time of 3:57.77 minutes at the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix.[17] She was third at the Golden Gala and runner-up at the Bislett Games. She was selected for the 2012 London Olympics, but a hamstring injury in the final lap of her heat saw her eliminated from the competition.[18]

2013–2014

Dibaba at the 2014 World Indoor Championships in Sopot

Genzebe opened 2013 on grass, winning the 3 km competition at the Great Edinburgh Cross Country,[19] then took two indoor wins in Karlsruhe and Birmingham.

On February 1, 2014, in Karlsruhe, Germany, Genzebe ran 3:55.17 in the 1500 m indoor event, beating the previous indoor world record by over 3 seconds. This mark was the fastest 1500 m in the world, indoor or outdoor, since 1997.[20]

Five days later, she improved the world indoor record in the 3000 metres to 8:16.60 at the XL Galan meet in Stockholm, Sweden. In that one race, she improved her own personal record by over thirty seconds, the world record by almost seven, and even though it was set on a shorter track indoors, her time was the number four time at the distance ever. Only on one occasion has the time been bettered, that was the 1993 Chinese National Games, when three athletes Wang Junxia, Qu Yunxia and Zhang Linli set the event on its ear, running times that had previously not been approached in two decades. In the month of February and in just 15 days Genzebe broke her third world record at indoor two-mile record at the Birmingham Indoor Grand Prix nine minutes and 0.48 seconds was her new record that shattered Meseret Defar previous record by six seconds.[21] [22]

With these records, Genzebe is one of only three athletes in history to break three world records in three different events within 15 days, joining Jesse Owens, who set three world records and tied another within 1 hour,[23] and Usain Bolt. She stands alone as the only one to do this feat in three different cities and meets, and in all individual events under FAT.

In summer IAAF Diamond League competition, Genzebe won the 1500 at Monaco.

2015

During 2015 she changed shoe sponsor. In February in XL-Galan, Stockholm, she ran for Adidas, and in March in Carlsbad (CA, USA), she had her first official competition in Nike dress in the 5k-race, where she missed the world record by a small margin.[24] The change of sponsor is associated with the change of manager – from Dutch Jos Hermens (Global Sports Communication) to Swedish Ulf Saletti. The manager change happened a few months before the sponsor change. Saletti is meeting director at Stockholm XL-Galan where she on 19 February 2015 repeated the achievement from the year before by setting a world record, now at 5000 meter with 14:18.86.

Genzebe won the women's 5000 m at the 2015 Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon, in a then-personal best time of 14:19.76.[25] She then went on to win the 5000 m at the Diamond League Meet Areva in Paris on July 4 in a new personal best time of 14:15:41. This was her fifth 5000 meter run under 14:30. Only four days later, in Barcelona, she set a new African record for the 1500 m of 3:54.11 (video), virtually single-handedly running the fastest 1500 in the world in 18 years[26] and the ninth fastest of all time. Six of the eight fastest times ahead of her occurred in two races at the 1993 Chinese National Games, where much of the running community believes the communist government was sponsoring a doping scheme in the days before serious drug testing was required. On 17 July 2015 in Monaco, Genzebe broke the 1500 m world record, which had previously been considered near-unbreakable, in a time of 3:50:07.

Dibaba (in the middle) with Faith Kipyegon and Sifan Hassan at the medal ceremony during the 2015 World Championships in Beijing

At the World Championships in Beijing, she was the World Champion in the 1500 m and claimed the bronze medal in the 5000 m event.

She was named the female IAAF World Athlete of the Year for 2015.[27]

2016

In February 2016, Genzebe competed in Stockholm's Globen Galan meeting. She ran the indoor mile in 4 minutes and 13.31 seconds, breaking Doina Melinte's 26-year-old world record of 4:17.14, which had been set in 1990.[28] In April she pulled out of the Dubai Athletics President's Cup 10,000 m Olympic qualifier race due to an injury in her left foot.[29] In a track meet in Barcelona on June 30, she failed to finish a 5000 m race due to an injury. She was removed from the track in a wheelchair.[30]

In the 2016 Summer Olympics Dibaba run the women's 1500 m. In her heat (one out of 3) she won out of 14 runners in 4:10.61. In the semifinals (one out of 2) she was the fastest runner with 4.03.06. The final was won by Faith Chepngetich Kipyegon in a time of 4:08.92. Dibaba took the silver medal in a time of 4:10.27 and Jennifer Simpson placed third for a bronze medal with 4:10.53.[31]

2017

Genzebe broke the 2000 m indoor world record and also the absolute world record, because it lowered the outdoor mark as well, on 7 February 2017 in Sabadell (Spain). She ran the distance in 5:23.75, an improvement on the former indoor best by Gabriela Szabo from 1998 by 6 seconds. The outdoor world record was set by Sonia O'Sullivan with 5:25.36.[32][33] An illness prevented her from running in her usual form at the 2017 World Athletics Championships, where she finished 12th in the 1500 metres.[34] and later pulled off from the 5000 m event.

Since September she was coached by Hussein Shibo and Tolera Dinka.[35]

2018

At the 2018 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Birmingham she became World Champion both in the 1500 m[36] and in the 3000 m[37] event.

2019

Dibaba won the Golden Gala 1500 m in Roma on 6. June in a time of 3:56.28. She went to Rabat on 16. June and won the 1500 m in 3:55.47.[38]

In the 1500 m Diamond League Final on 29. August in Zürich, Dibaba finished fourth in 4:00.86. The final was won by Sifan Hassan in 3:57.08, Konstanze Klosterhalfen was the runner up with 3:59.02 and Gabriela Debues-Stafford placed third in 3:59.59.[39]

International competitions

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 in Athletics	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	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	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	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	3000 m	8:45.05
			1st	1500 m	4:05.27

Personal bests

Type	Event	Time	Date	Place	Notes
Outdoor	800 metres	1:59.37	5 May 2017	Doha, Qatar
	1500 metres	3:50.07	17 July 2015	Monaco, Monaco	World record
	Mile	4:14.30	6 September 2016	Rovereto, Italy
	2000 metres	5:27.50	17 June 2014	Ostrava, Czech Republic
	3000 metres	8:21.29	30 June 2019	Palo Alto, California, USA
	5000 metres	14:15.41	4 July 2015	Paris, France
	Half marathon	1:05:18	6 December 2020	Valencia, Spain	Debut record
Indoor	1500 metres	3:55.17	1 February 2014	Karlsruhe, Germany	World record
	Mile	4:13.31	17 February 2016	Stockholm, Sweden	World record
	2000 metres	5:23.75	7 February 2017	Sabadell, Spain	World best
	3000 metres	8:16.60	6 February 2014	Stockholm, Sweden	World record
	Two miles	9:00.48	15 February 2014	Birmingham, England	World best
	5000 metres	14:18.86	19 February 2015	Stockholm, Sweden	World record[40]

• All information taken from IAAF profile.

References

1. "Genzebe Dibaba". Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 30 May 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
2. http://www.all-athletics.com/node/106286
3. "Novak Djokovic and Genzebe Dibaba, potential stars of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, win Laureus awards". Rio 2016. 15 April 2015. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
4. "Genzebe Dibaba: 2015 IAAF World Athletes of the Year". 27 November 2015. Archived from the original on 11 March 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
5. "Dibaba sisters make it a family affair – Edinburgh 2008". IAAF. 30 March 2008. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
6. "Junior Women's Race Report – Edinburgh 2008". IAAF. 30 March 2008. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
7. "Genzebe keeps the Dibaba family at the top of the world – Amman 2009". IAAF. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
8. Golden League 2008 – Bislett Games 5000 Metres W Results Archived 2008-06-08 at the Wayback Machine. IAAF. 6 June 2008.
9. Valiente, Emeterio (8 November 2009). "Gebremariam and G. Dibaba secure Ethiopian double in Atapuerca". IAAF. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
10. Hendrix, Ivo (15 February 2010). "Koech clocks World best in 2000m Steeplechase, G. Dibaba impresses in Gent". IAAF. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
11. Johnson, Len (28 March 2010). "Cherono sets the record straight – Women's Junior race report – Bydgoszcz 2010". IAAF. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
12. Morse, Parker (22 July 2010). "Women's 5000m final". IAAF. Archived from the original on 24 November 2010. Retrieved 7 November 2010.
13. Valiente, Emeterio (7 November 2010). "Medhin and Dibaba outclass World champions in Atapuerca". IAAF. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
14. Wenig, Jörg (8 January 2011). "Kipchoge and Masai prevail in snowy Edinburgh". IAAF. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
15. Mulkeen, Jon (13 February 2012). "Dibaba runs fifth fastest indoor 1500m ever in Karlsruhe, sprint world leads set in Fayetteville". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
16. Ramsak, Bob (10 March 2012). "EVENT REPORT - Women's 1500 Metres - Final". IAAF. Retrieved 17 February 2013.
17. Johnson, Len (19 May 2012). "Liu Xiang and G. Dibaba the standouts in rainy Shanghai – Samsung Diamond League". IAAF. Retrieved 17 February 2013.
18. Ramsak, Bob (6 August 2012). "London 2012 - Event Report - Women's 1500m Heats". IAAF. Retrieved 17 February 2013.
19. "Dibaba dashes Defar's hopes with speedy finish in Edinburgh". IAAF. 5 January 2013. Retrieved 17 February 2013.
20. The rise and rise of Genzebe Dibaba. Athletics Weekly (26 February 2014). Retrieved 2 April 2015.
21. http://en.omriyadat.com/african-athletics/ethiopian-distances-itself-from-dibaba-coach-after-doping-arrest
22. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-02-26. Retrieved 2014-02-19.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
23. Rothschild, Richard (24 May 2010). "Greatest 45 minutes ever in sports". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on 2016-08-09. Retrieved 2019-12-10.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
24. Mulkeen, Jon (29 March 2015). "Dibaba runs second-fastest 5km in history at Carlsbad 5000". World Athletics. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
25. Women's 5000 m - Nike Prefontaine Classic 2015 USATF.
26. "Genzebe Dibaba sets African 1500m record of 3:54.11 in Barcelona". IAAF. 8 July 2015.
27. "IAAF: Eaton Dibaba 2015 World Athletes". IAAF. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
28. "Genzebe Dibaba and Ayanleh Souleiman break world indoor records". Retrieved 18 February 2016.
29. Abulleil, Reem. "Genzebe Dibaba pulls out of Dubai 10,000m race with injury". Sport 360. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
30. "Genzebe Dibaba fails to finish 5k race in Barcelona". Watch Athletics. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
31. "Rio 2016 - Athletics - 1500m Women". Olympic.org. Retrieved 2020-07-01.
32. "Dibaba breaks world 2000m record in Sabadell| News | iaaf.org". www.iaaf.org. Retrieved 2019-06-06.
33. "Genzebe DIBABA | Profile | iaaf.org". www.iaaf.org. Retrieved 2019-06-06.
34. https://www.iaaf.org/competitions/iaaf-world-championships/iaaf-world-championships-london-2017-5151/results/women/1500-metres/final/result
35. Cullum, Barney (8 March 2018). "Return of land bonuses driving Ethiopian athletics success, not drugs, says gold medal winner Yomif Kejelcha". The Independent.
36. "IAAF: 1500 Metres Result | IAAF World Indoor Championships | iaaf.org". iaaf.org. Retrieved 2018-03-20.
37. "IAAF: Report: women's 3000m – IAAF World Indoor Championships Birmingham 2018| News | iaaf.org". iaaf.org. Retrieved 2018-03-20.
38. "Genzebe DIBABA | Profile". worldathletics.org. Retrieved 2020-03-26.
39. "1500 m women 2019 Diamond League final Zürich" (PDF).
40. Genzebe Dibaba Smashes 5000m Indoor WORLD RECORD XL-Galan 2015

External links

• Genzebe Dibaba at World Athletics
• Genzebe Dibaba | At Home with the Ethiopian Athletics Star Trans World Sport profile

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