Nicknamed the baby-faced assassin, Tirunesh, from Ethiopia, was the 5,000m (outdoor track) world record holder, and she’s also 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.
This distance running queen, with such a graceful style, has been a joy to watch for millions of fans around the world. Her talent is unfathomable, including a deadly kick at the end of the toughest races. Dibaba won the world championship 5,000m and 10,000m double in 2007 with respective last laps of 58.2 and 58.4, as well as winning the 10,000m title in both 2007 and 2013 and the 2017 10,000m silver.
Announcing her second pregnancy in 2019, Tirunesh had hoped to return to running in 2020. Now a mum of two, we wait to see if Tirunesh returns to the marathon in 2021, and can beat her PB of 2.17.56.