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.

Her aunt is Derartu Tulu, the 1992 and 2000 Olympic champion in 10,000 m.

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.

In 2008, at age 17, she won her first World Cross Country Championships under-20 title and took a silver medal in the 5,000m at the World U20 Championships.

Genzebe won the junior women's title at both the 2008 and 2009 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and finished fifth in the same event in 2007.

She 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, Genzebe 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.

She did the same a year later in the same race, improving her personal best by more than five seconds.

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.

Having competed at all World Athletics Championships between 2009 and 2017, Genzebe placed in the finals of all events in which she took part.

She began her 2009–10 cross country campaign with a win at the Cross de Atapuerca.

She also competed indoors, improving her 1500 m best to 4:04.80 at the Indoor Flanders meeting.

The next year, Genzebe added her second Cross Country U20 title, and in 2010, the World U20 Championships 5,000m gold.

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.

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.

In November, she took a second consecutive victory at the Cross de Atapuerca, taking a prominent scalp in Emily Chebet (the reigning senior champion).

She was the runner-up at the Great Edinburgh Cross Country in January 2011 behind Linet Masai.

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 is a five-time World Indoor champion, winning the 1,500m in 2012, the 3,000m in 2014 and 2016, and securing the 1,500m/3,000m double in 2018.

She was highly successful as a junior athlete.

She began 2012 with the fifth fastest ever indoor 1500 m, winning the Weltklasse in Karlsruhe in 4:00.13 minutes.

A win at the Aviva Indoor Grand Prix preceded her first world title at the 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships.

Turning to the outdoor track, Genzebe ran an Ethiopian record time of 3:57.77 minutes at the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix.

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.

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

She was named Laureus Sportswoman of the Year for 2014, and IAAF World Female Athlete of the Year in 2015.

Genzebe comes from a sporting family of several Olympic medalists, which includes her sisters Tirunesh and Ejegayehu, and her aunt Derartu Tulu.

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.

She won the 2015 Diamond League title.

A 1,500 metres 2016 Rio Olympics silver medalist, she won a gold medal in this event and a bronze in the 5,000 metres at the 2015 World Championships.

Genzebe is the current world record holder for the indoor events of the one mile, 3,000m and 5,000m.