Letesenbet Gidey

From PE dunce to top of the class 🏃

To avoid further trouble at school, the young Tigrayan heads to Mekele, the regional capital, and joins the Trans Sports Club. The spark comes quickly: at 17, she wins the junior title at the World Cross Country Championships in Guiyang in 2015, then repeats in Kampala in 2017.

In 2019, the youngster moves up to the senior ranks. After bronze at the cross country World Championships in Aarhus, she follows up with silver in the 10,000 m at the Doha World Championships in 30'21"23 🌍 . In November, she lines up at the Zevenheuvelenloop in Nijmegen, the "Seven Hills" race ⛰️ , which she completes in 44'20" over 15 km. The first woman under 45 minutes, she erases the previous best performance by 1'17".

Three records, no downtime ⏱️

The pandemic and the conflict hitting Tigray almost keep her from leaving Ethiopia in 2020. Two outings are enough: on 7 October, at the World Record Day in Valencia, she shaves more than four seconds off the 5,000 m world record with 14'06"62 🚀 .

On 6 June 2021, on the track in Hengelo, Sifan Hassan takes the 10,000 m record. The Dutchwoman will enjoy it for 48 hours. At the Ethiopian Olympic trials, on the same track, Letesenbet Gidey clocks 29'01"03 and takes back the throne. The summer continues in Tokyo, with a bronze medal in the 10,000 m 🥉 .

On 24 October 2021, she discovers the 21 km on the fast course of the Valencia Half Marathon, a member of the SuperHalfs circuit. In her very first half marathon, she runs 1h02'52" and improves the previous record by about 70 seconds. Simultaneous holder of the 5,000 m, 10,000 m and half marathon records, she joins Norwegian Ingrid Kristiansen in a club with only two members.

Letesenbet Gidey, from tartan to asphalt 🏆

She was missing a world gold: in July 2022, on the track in Eugene, she wins the 10,000 m title 🥇 . Five months later, back to Valencia for her marathon debut. Over the 42.195 km of the Valencia Marathon, she finishes in 2h16'49", the best women's first marathon in history. Decidedly, the city of oranges suits her 🍊 .

In 2023, she takes silver in the 10,000 m at the Budapest World Championships (31'28"16), in an Ethiopian podium sweep. Next stop is the New York Marathon, a stop on the World Marathon Majors, where she finishes 2nd in 2h27'29" on a leg-breaking route dotted with bridges 🗽 .

Since her 3rd place over 5,000 m in Suzhou in April 2024, the record holder has left the pack and did not compete at the Paris Olympics. Her track records have since fallen, the 5,000 m in 2023 and then the 10,000 m in 2024 to Beatrice Chebet. The 1h02'52" from Valencia still stands in 2026, and a return to competition is still awaited. While waiting for her next start line, follow her news on her World Athletics profile and go challenge your own shadow on the Valencia asphalt: book your bib!