Tirunesh Dibaba (born June 1, 1985 in Arsi, Ethiopia) is an Ethiopian long distance track athlete. A womens 400m hurdles race on a typical outdoor red rubber track. ... The five Olympic rings were designed in 1913, adopted in 1914 and debuted at the Games at Antwerp, 1920. ... The ceremony for the lighting of the flame is arranged as a pagan pageant, with priestesses dancing. ... The World Championships in Athletics is an event organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations. ... The 9th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held from August 23 to August 31, 2003 in the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, France. ... Helsinki Olympic Stadium at the opening day of the 2005 World Championships in Athletics. ... Helsinki Olympic Stadium at the opening day of the 2005 World Championships in Athletics. ... Official logo The 2007 World Championships in Athletics will be held in Osaka, Japan from August 24 to September 2, 2007 at Nagai Stadium. ... June 1 is the 152nd day of the year (153rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar). ... Arsi is also an extinct Tocharian language Arsi (or Arusi) is one of the 12 zones in Oromia region, Ethiopia. ... Long-distance track event races require runners to balance their energy. ... A womens 400m hurdles race on a typical outdoor red rubber track. ...

Born in the village of Chefe, Tirunesh was the 4th of 6 children and was raised in the high-altitude Arsi Zone of the Oromia Region. She moved to the capital, Addis Ababa, in 2000 and at the age of 14 began her athletics career. Arsi (or Arusi) is one of the 12 zones of the Oromia region, Ethiopia. ... Map of Ethiopia highlighting the Oromia region. ... For the long-distance runner, see Addis Abebe. ... 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Dibaba is part of an athletic family, with older sister Ejegayehu also making her mark on the international stage and brother Dejene marked as a future star. 1992 Olympic champion Derartu Tulu is also their cousin. Derartu Tulu (born: March 21, 1972) in Bokoji, Arsi, Ethiopia is a long distance track, road and marathon athlete. ...

International Performances

Dibaba's first fully-international outdoor track event was the 2001 World Athletics Championships. Running at the age of 15, she finished 5th in the 5,000 m. The 8th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada between August 3 and August 12 and was the first time the event had visited North America. ...

Dibaba's most prestigious performances so far have come in the world championships athletics events of 2003, 2005 and 2007. In 2003, Dibaba won the 5,000 m in a sprint finish against Marta Dominguez of Spain and Edith Masai of Kenya. At the 2005 championships, Dibaba produced a blistering finish to out-sprint compatriot Berhane Adere and her own sister Ejegayehu and also became the first woman to win the 10,000/5000 m double at the same champinships. In 2007, when the championships were held in Osaka, Dibaba again utilised her sprint finish to overhaul Turkey's Elvan Abeylegesse, thus becoming the only woman to win back-to-back 10,000 m titles. In Osaka, Dibaba won with a time of 31:55.41. The 9th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held from August 23 to August 31, 2003 in the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, France. ... Helsinki Olympic Stadium at the opening day of the 2005 World Championships in Athletics. ... Official logo The 2007 World Championships in Athletics will be held in Osaka, Japan from August 24 to September 2, 2007 at Nagai Stadium. ... Marta Domínguez (born November 3, 1975 in Palencia) is a Spanish runner who mainly competes in 3000 and 5000 metres. ... Edith Masai is a Kenyan track athlete. ... Berhane Adere (born July 21, 1973 in Shewa) is an athlete from Ethiopia. ... Ejegayehu Dibaba (born March 21, 1982) is an Ethiopian long-distance athlete. ... Elvan Abeylegesse leading at the IAAF World Championships 2003 in Paris, France Elvan Abeylegesse (also formerly: Hewan Abeye (Amharic) and Elvan Can (Turkish)) is an Ethiopian-born Turkish woman middle and long distance track and field athlete, running in the disciplines 1500m, 3000m and 5000m, but also 10000m, 2 miles...

At the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Dibaba was beaten into third place by Meseret Defar of Ethiopia and Isabella Ochichi of Kenya. The result was considered by some to be a disappointment but at 19, she still became the youngest ever medalist for Ethiopia at the Olympics. At the 2005 World Athletics Championships, Dibaba defeated Defar in a sprint finish having led much earlier than usual. The win ensured that Dibaba became the first ever female athlete to win both the 5,000 m and 10,000 m in the same championship. In 2006 she won five out of six Golden League events (5,000 m) in the same season, which earned her a total of $83,333. Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics were held at the Athens Olympic Stadium, except for the marathons (which were run from Marathonas to the Kallimarmaro Stadium), the road walk (through the streets of Athens), and the shot put, which was held at the Ancient Olympia Stadium. ... Meseret Defar (born November 19, 1983 in Addis Ababa) is a female athlete from Ethiopia who won gold in 5000 metres at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens with a time of 14:45. ... Isabella Ochichi from Kenya was the silver medal winner (second-place finisher) in the final of the womens 5,000 meter race at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games held in Athens, Greece. ... The IAAF Golden League is an annual series of athletics meetings organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations. ...

A major feature of Dibaba's running style is an incredible sprint finish. During the final lap of the 10,000 m in 2005, Dibaba was clocked over the closing 400 m in 58.33 seconds. Dibaba is known for not taking the lead in a race until the final lap.

Dibaba is also a remarkably successful cross country runner; she has four IAAF World Cross Country Championships victories, including one junior title (Lausanne, 2003), one short course title (Saint-Galmier, 2005), and two long course titles (Saint-Galmier, 2005, and Fukuoka, 2006). The Minnesota State Highschool Cross Country Meet [[Image:Crosscountryus. ... IAAF World Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international Cross country running. ... Lausanne (pronounced ) is a city in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, situated on the shores of Lake Geneva (French: Lac Léman), and facing Évian-les-Bains (France) and with the Jura mountains to its north. ... Saint-Galmier is a French commune in the Loire departement. ... Saint-Galmier is a French commune in the Loire departement. ... This article is about a city in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. ...

Meseret Defar

Dibaba is known to have an on-track rivalry with Meseret Defar, and races featuring the two are highly anticipated, but rare, usually, only occurring at championships.

Video Interview

• Video Interview of Tirunesh Dibaba after the 100th Millrose Games

External links

• International Association of Athletics Federations on Tirunesh Dibaba
• Athletics Africa report
• Addis Tribune report early in her career
• 2005 World Championship 10,000 m report