Letesenbet Gidey

This article is about a person whose name includes a patronymic. The article properly refers to the person by her given name, Letesenbet, and not as Gidey.

Letesenbet Gidey (Tigrinya: ለተሰንበት ግደይ, born 20 March 1998)^[2] is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who holds two world records and one world best. In the 10,000 metres, she is the 2020 Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist, 2019 World silver medallist, and 2022 World champion.

Letesenbet Gidey

Letesenbet at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene
Personal information
Born	(1998-03-20) 20 March 1998 (age 25) Endameskel, Tigray Region, Ethiopia
Height	1.66 m (5 ft 5 in)^[1]
Weight	50 kg (110 lb)^[1]
Sport
Country	Ethiopia
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	Track, road and cross-country long-distance running
Team	NN Running Team
Achievements and titles
Olympic finals	2021 Tokyo 10,000 m,  Bronze
World finals	2017 London 5000 m, 11th 2019 Doha 10,000 m,  Silver 2022 Eugene 5000 m, 5th 10,000 m,  Gold 2023 Budapest 10,000 m,  Silver
Highest world ranking	1st (10,000 m, 2023)
Personal bests	3000 m: 8:20.27 (Palo Alto 2019) 5000 m: 14:06.62 NR (Valencia 2020) 10,000 m: 29:01.03 WR (Hengelo 2021) Road 10  km: 33:55 (Bengaluru 2019) 15 km: 44:20 WB (Nijmegen 2019) Half marathon: 1:02:52 WR (Valencia 2021) Marathon: 2:16:49 (Valencia 2022)
Medal record Women's athletics Representing  Ethiopia Olympic Games 2020 Tokyo 10,000 m World Championships 2022 Eugene 10,000 m 2019 Doha 10,000 m 2023 Budapest 10,000 m World Cross Country Championships 2015 Guiyang Junior race 2015 Guiyang Junior team 2017 Kampala Junior race 2017 Kampala Junior team 2019 Aarhus Senior team 2019 Aarhus Senior race World Marathon Majors 2023 New York Marathon

Letesenbet holds the current world records for the 10,000 metres and half marathon, which she set in June 2021 and October 2021, respectively. She is only the second athlete after Ingrid Kristiansen from 1989–1991 to hold them simultaneously.^[3] Her record in the half marathon, making Letesenbet the first debutante to set a world record in the event, broke the previous mark by more than a minute.^[4][5] She also holds the world best in the 15 km road race, which was also an over one-minute improvement. Letesenbet became the first woman to break the 64 and 63-minute barriers in the half marathon and the 45-minute barrier in the 15 km. She recorded the fastest women's marathon debut in history at the 2022 Valencia Marathon, placing her seventh on the respective world all-time list.

At age 17, Letesenbet won the junior race at the 2015 World Cross Country Championships. She retained this title in 2017 to take a bronze medal in the senior race in 2019.

Early life and background

Letesenbet Gidey was born in Endameskel in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. She is the youngest of four siblings, having two brothers and a sister, and grew up on the family's farm.^[6]

She was expelled from school as a 13-year-old for refusing to run in physical education classes and was only allowed to return when she agreed to participate. She then won the 2000 m / 3000 m steeplechase double for the Tigray region at the Ethiopian Schools Championships in Shashemane in late 2012.^[6]

Junior career

2014

On 14 June, 16-year-old Letesenbet ran the 5000 metres at the Ethiopian Championships to finish third with a time of 16:19.30. Almaz Ayana won in a time of 16:11.40, and Kidsan Alema was second in 16:13.48.^[2][7]

2015

On 1 February, she won the junior 6 km race at the Jan Meda International Cross Country in Addis Ababa – Ethiopia's trials for the World Cross Country Championships – with a time of 20:30.^[8]

On 28 March, she competed in her first international race outside of Ethiopia at the World Cross Country Championships in Guiyang, China, claiming the world under-20 title on a 6.03 km course in a time of 19:48; together with her Ethiopian teammates Letesenbet also took the team title with a clean individual podium sweep. Just eight days after her 17 birthday, she was the youngest junior women's winner for 15 years.^[9]

On 21 June, she won the 5000 m run in Bottrop, Germany, in a time of 15:39.83. The runner-up was Jana Groß-Hardt in 17:06.33. At first, Letesenbet was disqualified because she had stepped on a marking on the track, and Groß-Hardt stood at the top of the podium during the award ceremony. Letesenbet objected to this decision, reasoning that her misstep had not given her an unfair advantage, and as a result of her appeal, she was reinstated as the winner.^[10][11][12]

On 15 July, she ran the 3000 m girls' race at the World U18 Championships in Cali, Colombia, finishing fourth with a time of 9:04.64.^[2]

2016

On 22 May, an 18-year-old Letesenbet took victory in the 5000 metres at the FBK Games in Hengelo, Netherlands, in a time of 14:58.44.^[2] On 30 June, she won the event at a track meet in Barcelona with a time of 14:45.63, defeating multiple world record holder Genzebe Dibaba who dropped out after 3600 m.^[13]

2017

 

At age 19, Letesenbet (L in yellow) debuted in the World Athletics Championships at the 2017 edition in London, advancing to the 5000 m final.

She won the women's junior race at the Ethiopian Cross Country championships on 13 February in Addis Ababa.^[14]

On 26 March, she defended her junior title on a 6 km course at the World Cross Country Championship in Kampala, Uganda.^[15]

The then 19-year-old competed in the 5000 m event at the World Championships in London. She advanced to the finals and finished 11th of 14 starters, stopping the clock at 15:04.99. The race was won by Hellen Obiri in a time of 14:34.86, the silver medal went to Almaz Ayana, who ran 14:40.35, and Sifan Hassan was third in 14:42.74.^[16]

Senior career

2018

In February, Letesenbet won the 6 km race at the sixth leg of the IAAF Cross Country Permit series taking place in San Vittore Olona, Italy. Her winning time was 18:14.^[17] On 26 May, she ran the 5000 m at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, U.S. and placed second in a time of 14:30.29, beating Obiri in third in 14:35.03; Genzebe Dibaba won the race in 14:26.89.^[18]

2019: World 10,000 m silver medallist

On 10 February, Letesenbet competed in the 10 km run at the Jan Meda Cross Country Championships in Addis Ababa, finishing second with a time of 35:55. The winner of the event was Dera Dida in 35:50.^[19]

At the World Cross Country Championships in Aarhus, Denmark, she participated in the senior race. The world 5000 m champion Hellen Obiri took the title on the extremely hilly 10.2 km course with a time of 36:14, Dida was the runner-up in 36:16, and Letesenbet earned the bronze medal by clocking 36:24.^[20]

She raced the 10,000 m at the Ethiopian Championships in Addis Ababa on 8 May, winning in a time of 32:10.2.^[2] On 19 May, Letesenbet ran the 10 km road race in Bengaluru, India. She placed second, with Agnes Tirop the winner and Senbere Teferi in third place. All three women finished at the same time at 33:55.^[21][22] At the Diamond League Prefontaine Classic meet in Stanford, California on 30 June, she took third place in the 3000 m race with a time of 8:20.27, a new African outdoor best. The winner was Sifan Hassan in 8:18.49, a European record, and Konstanze Klosterhalfen was second in 8:20.07.^[23][24] Seven of the top 15 runners ran personal bests.^[25] On 17 July, Letesenbet won the 10,000 m Ethiopian trials on the track in Hengelo, Netherlands in a time of 30:37.89.^[26]

At the Diamond League final in Brussels, Letesenbet finished second in the 5000 m with a time of 14:29.54. Hassan won the race in 14:26.26.^[27][28]

 

Letesenbet Gidey (L) with her silver on the women's 10,000 m podium at the 2019 World Championships in Doha; Sifan Hassan (C), Agnes Tirop (R).

On 28 September, Letesenbet took the silver medal in the 10,000 m at the World Championships held in Doha, Qatar, with a personal best of 30:21.23. Hassan won the race in a time of 30:17.33, a new Dutch national record, with Agnes Tirop third in 30:25.50.^[29]

World 15K run record

On 17 November 2019, Letesenbet set a new world record of 44m 20s in the 15 km road race at the Zevenheuvelenloop road race in Nijmegen, Netherlands, breaking the 2017 world record held by Joyciline Jepkosgei by one minute and 17 seconds, and becoming the first woman to run 15K under 45 minutes. Letesenbet ran the final 10K in 29:12, the fastest time ever recorded by a woman under any conditions (Almaz Ayana's track world record for 10,000 m was at the time at 29:17.45). Her average pace through 15K was 2:57 per kilometre.^[30] She lowered by more than 2 minutes Tirunesh Dibaba's 2009 world record set also at the Zevenheuvelenloop in 46:28, which was, in turn, a 27-second improvement on the former mark at the time.^[31][32] She received a prize of 50,000 euros for her world record.^[33]

2020

At the Monaco Diamond League meet on 14 August, Letesenbet was defeated in the 5000 m race by Hellen Obiri, who set a meeting record, 14:26.57 to 14:22.12.^[34]

World 5000 m record

On 7 October 2020, at the NN Valencia World Record Day meet, the 22-year-old broke Tirunesh Dibaba's 2008 record in the 5000 m taking more than 4 seconds off to stop the clock at 14m 6.62s.^[35]

2021: Tokyo Olympic 10,000 m bronze medallist

World 10,000 m record

On 6 June, Sifan Hassan set a 10,000 m world record of 29:06.82. Just two days later, on 8 June, Letesenbet broke Hassan's record at the Ethiopian trials on the same track by more than four seconds with a time of 29m 1.03s, running the last lap in one minute and three seconds. She was slightly behind the world record pace at the halfway point but began to accelerate after 7000 m. Her time for the second half of the race of 14:18 was the eighth-quickest women's 5000 m time ever run. She became the first woman to hold both the 5000 m and 10,000 m world records since Ingrid Kristiansen from 1986 to 1993.^[36][37][38]

Racing in the event at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics in August, Letesenbet took the bronze medal, however. After the tactical race, she led on the final bend but was then outsprinted by both Hassan (29:55.32) and Bahrain's Kalkidan Gezahegne (29:56.18) to finish third in 30:01.72.^[39]

World half marathon record

On 24 October 2021, on her half marathon debut, Letesenbet finished in 62m 52s at the Valencia Half Marathon, becoming the first woman to run under 64 minutes (legally) and under 63 minutes, and improving upon previous Ruth Chepng'etich's world record by 70 seconds (52 s upon an unratified mark of Yalemzerf Yehualaw). She reached 10K in 29:45 – the third-fastest clocking in history and just seven seconds off the world record for the distance, and her 15K time was only nine seconds slower than her own world best.^[4][5] Letesenbet's 70-second improvement of the world record was the biggest drop in the women's half marathon since 1978.^[40]

2022: World 10,000 m champion

 

Letesenbet (2nd from the left in green) en route to the 10,000 m title at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene.

Letesenbet claimed her first senior global title and her first global track title at the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, in July. She held off a twin Kenyan challenge in a nail-biting finish (the top 3 were only separated by 0.13 s) to win the 10,000 metres gold, achieving a world-leading time of 30:09.94 ahead of Hellen Obiri in 30:10.02 and Margaret Kipkemboi in 30:10.07.^[41] Seven days later, she also competed in the 5000 m event and finished fifth.^[2]

On her highly anticipated marathon debut at the Valencia Marathon in December, the 24-year-old was initially executing her negative split tactic and gradually accelerated to put herself on world record (2:14:04) pace at 33 km, but eventually faded over the final 7 km quite a bit. She finished second behind Amane Beriso with a time of 2:16:49, setting, however, a record for the fastest ever at the time women's marathon debut and placing sixth on the world all-time list.^[42][43]

2023–present

Letesenbet started the year with a win at the Jan Meda Cross Country held in Sululta on 1 January, which doubled as Ethiopia's trial race for the February's World Cross Country Championships in Australia.^[44] At the event, she led but faded in the home straight to be overtaken by Beatrice Chebet just metres before the finish line. Letesenbet then stumbled and collapsed, and was eventually disqualified after requiring assistance.^[45] At the 2023 World Athletics Championships, Letesenbet won silver in the women's 10,000 metres.^[46]

Achievements

All information from World Athletics profile.^[2]

Personal bests

Surface	Event	Time (h:)m:s	Venue	Date	Notes
Track	1500 metres	4:11.11	Hérouville-Saint-Clair, France	15 June 2017
	3000 metres	8:20.27	Stanford, CA, United States	30 June 2019
	5000 metres	14:06.62	Valencia, Spain	7 October 2020	National Record
	10,000 metres	29:01.03	Hengelo, Netherlands	8 June 2021	World record
Road	10K run	33:55	Bengaluru, India	19 May 2019
	15K run	44:20	Nijmegen, Netherlands	17 November 2019	World best
	Half marathon	1:02:52	Valencia, Spain	24 October 2021	Mx World record
	Marathon	2:16:49	Valencia, Spain	4 December 2022	fastest women's debut, #6th of all time

International competitions

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Result	Notes
Representing   Ethiopia
2015	World Cross Country Championships	Guiyang, China	1st	Junior race	19:48
			1st	Junior team	11 pts
	World Youth Championships	Cali, Colombia	4th	3000 m	9:04.64	PB
2017	World Cross Country Championships	Kampala, Uganda	1st	Junior race	18:34
			1st	Junior team	19 pts
	World Championships	London, United Kingdom	11th	5000 m	15:04.99
2019	World Cross Country Championships	Aarhus, Denmark	3rd	Senior race	36:24
			1st	Senior team	21 pts
	World Championships	Doha, Qatar	2nd	10,000 m	30:21.23	PB
2021	Olympic Games	Tokyo, Japan	3rd	10,000 m	30:01.72
2022	World Championships	Eugene, OR, United States	5th	5000 m	14:47.98
			1st	10,000 m	30:09.94	WL
2023	World Cross Country Championships	Bathurst, Australia	–	Senior race	DQ
	World Championships	Budapest, Hungary	2nd	10,000 m	31:28.16	SB
Road races representing NN Running Team
2019	World 10K Bangalore	Bangalore, India	2nd	10 km	33:55
	Zevenheuvelenloop	Nijmegen, Netherlands	1st	15 km	44:20	WB
2021	Valencia Half Marathon	Valencia, Spain	1st	Half marathon	1:02:52	WR
2022	Valencia Marathon	Valencia, Spain	2nd	Marathon	2:16:49	#6th of all time
2023	New York City Marathon	New York City	2nd	Marathon	2:27:29

National championships

• Ethiopian Athletics Championships
  • 10,000 metres: 2019

Notes

References

1. (PDF). Ethiopian Athletics Federation. Ethiopian Athletics Federation. p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 July 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
2. "Letesenbet GIDEY – Athlete Profile". World Athletics. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
3. Gault, Jonathan (30 November 2022). "What to Expect from Letesenbet Gidey's Historic Marathon Debut in Valencia". LetsRun.com. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
4. Valiente, Emeterio (24 October 2021). "Gidey smashes world half marathon record in Valencia". World Athletics. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
5. "Letesenbet Gidey Shatters the Half Marathon World Record in Valencia". Runner's World. 25 October 2021. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
6. Negash, Elshadai (12 June 2015). "Letesenbet Gidey – from reluctant runner to global champion". World Athletics. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
7. Negash, Elshadai; Wagaw, Bizuayehu (16 June 2014). "Shocks, comebacks and close finishes highlight Ethiopian Championships". World Athletics. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
8. Negash, Elshadai; Wagaw, Bizuayehu (2 February 2015). "Yalew and Tola triumph at the Jan Meda International Cross Country". World Athletics. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
9. Sammet, Michelle (28 March 2015). "Gidey gets Guiyang gold in first international race". World Athletics. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
10. Goldmann, Björn (21 June 2015). "Die zweite Auflage der Bottroper NRW-Gala ist ein Erfolg". waz.de (in German). Retrieved 29 March 2020.
11. "Offene NRW Meisterschaften Bottrop 21. Juni 2015".
12. "Offene NRW-Meisterschaften der Frauen und Männer 2015 in Bottrop am 21. Juni und NRW-Hammerwurf-Cup am 19. Juni in Olfen". LAZ Rhede (in German). 22 June 2015. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
13. "Genzebe Dibaba fails to finsh 5k race in Barcelona". WatchAthletics.com. 1 July 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
14. Negash, Elshadai; Wondifraw, Abiy (13 February 2017). "Gidey, Molla and Dida among the winners at Ethiopian Cross Country Championships". World Athletics. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
15. Karoney, Celestine (26 March 2017). "Gidey cruises to second straight U20 women's title – IAAF World Cross Country Championships Kampala 2017". World Athletics. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
16. "IAAF 2015 WC 5000 m womens final" (PDF).
17. Sampaolo, Diego (11 February 2018). "Teenage talents Kiplimo and Gidey triumph at Cinque Mulini". World Athletics. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
18. "5000 Metres Result | Prefontaine Classic". World Athletics. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
19. Ramsak, Bob; Fuchs, Carole (11 February 2019). "Tuemay and Dida take Jan Meda Cross Country victories in Addis". World Athletics. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
20. Pavitt, Michael (30 March 2019). "Cheptegei runs to redemption by winning men's elite title at IAAF World Cross-Country Championships". Inside the Games. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
21. "Tata Consultancy Services World 10K Bengaluru". World Athletics. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
22. "World 10k Bengaluru 2019 results" (PDF).
23. "3000 Metres Result | Prefontaine Classic". World Athletics. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
24. "Konstanze Klosterhalfen und der Lauf in die absolute Weltspitze". www.leichtathletik.de | Das Leichtathletik-Portal. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
25. Dalek, Brian (30 June 2019). "Highlights From Prefontaine Classic: Caster Semenya Triumphs in Return to 800 Meters". Runner's World. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
26. "Gebrhiwet and Gidey take 10,000m titles at Ethiopian trials in Hengelo". World Athletics. 18 July 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
27. Mulkeen, Jon (6 September 2019). "Hassan completes Diamond distance double in Brussels – IAAF Diamond League". World Athletics. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
28. "Diamond League 2019 Brussels 5000 m women" (PDF). Diamond League. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
29. Landells, Steve (28 September 2019). "Report: women's 10,000m - IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019". World Athletics. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
30. Ramsak, Bob (17 November 2019). "Weekend road round-up: Gidey smashes 15km world best, Lonyangata and Melese win in Shanghai". World Athletics. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
31. race-news -service.com (18 November 2019). "Äthiopierin Gidey rennt 15-km-Weltbestzeit". Runner's World DE (in German). Retrieved 28 March 2020.
32. . iaaf.org. Archived from the original on 22 November 2009. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
33. Francis, Anne (17 November 2019). "Letesenbet Gidey breaks 15K world record". Canadian Running Magazine. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
34. "Diamond League Monaco 5000 m women" (PDF). 14 August 2020.
35. "Joshua Cheptegei smashes 10,000m world record as Letesenbet Gidey sets new women's 5,000m best". BBC Sport. 7 October 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
36. Fitzgerald, Matt (15 November 2022). "How Conservative Pacing Can also Be Aggressive Pacing". Runner's Tribe. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
37. "Gidey breaks 10,000m world record in Hengelo". World Athletics. 9 June 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
38. Ingle, Sean (8 June 2021). "Letesenbet Gidey breaks two-day-old 10,000m world record in super spikes". TheGuardian.com. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
39. "Olympic Stadium, Tokyo – Final 10000 metres Women | 7 August 2021". World Athletics. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
40. "Letesenbet Gidey Runs 62:52 To SMASH Half Marathon World Record". LetsRun.com. 24 October 2021. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
41. "Letesenbet Gidey Gets Her Gold, Outkicks Hellen Obiri, Sifan Hassan to Win 10,000m at 2022 World Championships". LetsRun.com. 16 July 2022. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
42. Gault, Jonathan (4 December 2022). "Kelvin Kiptum (2:01:53) & Amane Beriso (2:14:58) Surprise to Win Super Fast 2022 Valencia Marathon". LetsRun.com. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
43. Valiente, Emeterio (4 December 2022). "Kiptum and Beriso break course records in Valencia". World Athletics. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
44. "Gidey and Aregawi triumph at Jan Meda Cross Country". World Athletics. 2 January 2023. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
45. Henderson, Jason (18 February 2023). "Chebet pounces as Gidey falters in dramatic World Cross finish". AW. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
46. https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-championships/budapest23/news/report/wch-budapest-23-report-women-10000m

External links

• Letesenbet Gidey at World Athletics 
• Letesenbet Gidey at Diamond League 
• Letesenbet Gidey at ARRS 
• Letesenbet Gidey at Olympedia 

Records
Preceded by  Tirunesh Dibaba	Women's 5000 m World Record Holder 7 October 2020 – present	Succeeded by Faith Kipyegon
Preceded by  Sifan Hassan	Women's 10,000 m World record holder 8 June 2021 – present	Succeeded by Incumbent
Preceded by  Ruth Chepng'etich	Women's Half marathon World record holder 24 October 2021 – present	Succeeded by Incumbent