Ejegayehu Dibaba Explained

Ejegayehu Dibaba
Native Name:Ijigaayoo Dibaabaa
Native Name Lang:om
Birth Name:እጅጋዬሁ ዲባባ
Birth Date:21 March 1982
Birth Place:Bekoji, Arsi Province, Ethiopia
Father:-->
Relatives:Tirunesh and Genzebe Dibaba (sisters),
Derartu Tulu (cousin)
Country:Ethiopia
Sport:Athletics
Event:Long-distance running

Ejegayehu Dibaba Keneni (Oromo: Ijigaayoo Dibaabaa; Amharic: እጅጋዬሁ ዲባባ); born 21 March 1982, in Bekoji) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. She won the silver medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Ejegayehu earned bronze medals in the 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres events at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics. She took gold medals in the 10,000 m at the 2003 Afro-Asian Games and All-Africa Games.

Ejegayehu comes from a sporting family of several Olympic medalists, including her sisters Tirunesh and Genzebe, and her cousin Derartu Tulu.

Career

Ejegayehu Dibaba is an Ethiopian long-distance runner from the high-altitude Arsi Zone of the Oromia Region. She is the third child of six. Her younger sisters Tirunesh and Genzebe are also international long-distance athletes, and brother Dejene is marked as a future star. Like her sister Tirunesh, her cousin Derartu Tulu is a double Olympic gold medallist (1992 and 2000).

Ejegayehu beat her cousin to take the silver medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2004 Summer Olympics, her two bronze medals at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics were behind her sister winning the gold in the final sprint.

She took part in a 7 km race at the Memorial Peppe Greco in September 2010 and took second place behind Sylvia Kibet.[1]

Ejegayehu made her debut over the marathon distance at the 2011 Chicago Marathon and defeated Kayoko Fukushi by 2 minutes, 29 seconds in making her marathon debut at 2:22:09, the third fastest debut time and easy win.[2] Ejegayehu Dibaba is 1.60 m tall and weighs 46 kg.

International competitions

2002African ChampionshipsRadès, Tunisia3rd5000 m15:56.02
2003World Cross Country ChampionshipsLausanne, Switzerland9thShort race12:59
bgcolor=silver2ndTeam competition24 pts
World ChampionshipsParis, France9th10,000 m31:01.07
All-Africa GamesAbuja, Nigeriabgcolor=gold1st10,000 m32:34.54
Afro-Asian GamesHyderabad, Indiabgcolor=gold1st10,000 m33:01.12
2004World Cross Country ChampionshipsLausanne, Switzerland10thShort race13:23
bgcolor=gold1stTeam competition19 pts
bgcolor=silver2ndLong race27:29
bgcolor=gold1stTeam competition26 pts
Olympic GamesAthens, Greecebgcolor=silver2nd10,000 m30:24.98
World Athletics FinalMonte Carlo, Monaco3rd5000 m14:59.52
2005World Cross Country ChampionshipsSaint-Étienne, France14thShort race13:51
World ChampionshipsHelsinki, Finland3rd5000 m14:42.47
3rd10,000 m30:26.00
2006World Cross Country ChampionshipsFukuoka, Japan14thLong race26:37
African ChampionshipsBambous, Mauritius10,000 m
World Athletics FinalStuttgart, Germany4th5000 m16:07.87
2007World ChampionshipsOsaka, Japan6th10,000 m32:30.44
2008African ChampionshipsAddis Ababa, Ethiopiabgcolor=silver2nd10,000 m32:50.36
Beijing, China12th10,000 m31:22.18
World Athletics FinalStuttgart, Germany5000 m

Personal bests

Notes and References

  1. News: Zorzi. Alberto. 27 September 2010. Soi and Kibet take victories in Scili. IAAF. 7 May 2016.
  2. News: Ferstle. Jim. 9 October 2011. Mosop and Shobukova scorch to Chicago titles - UPDATED. IAAF. 7 May 2016. Although she finished second, she was subsequently awarded the win in 2014 when Lilya Shobukova was subsequently disqualified for a doping scheme. See Doping in Russia for details on Shobukova's incident leading to disqualification.