1. Letesenbet Gidey is an Ethiopian long-distance runner.
21 Facts About Letesenbet Gidey
1. 2.
Letesenbet Gidey holds the current world record in the half marathon, which she set in October of 2021.
3.
Letesenbet Gidey's record broke the previous mark by more than a minute.
4.
Letesenbet Gidey recorded the fastest women's marathon debut in history at the 2022 Valencia Marathon, placing her seventh on the respective world all-time list with a time of 2.16.49.
5.
At age 17, Letesenbet Gidey won the junior race at the 2015 World Cross Country Championships.
6.
Letesenbet Gidey retained the title in 2017 to take a bronze medal in the senior race in 2019.
7.
Letesenbet Gidey was born in Endameskel in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia.
8.
Letesenbet Gidey is the youngest of four siblings, having two brothers and a sister, and grew up on the family's farm.
9.
Letesenbet Gidey 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.
10.
Letesenbet Gidey 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.
11.
Letesenbet Gidey placed second, with Agnes Tirop the winner and Senbere Teferi in third place.
12.
Letesenbet Gidey ran the final 10K in 29:12, the fastest time ever recorded by a woman under any conditions.
13.
Letesenbet Gidey lowered by more than 2 minutes Tirunesh Dibaba's 2009 world record set at the Zevenheuvelenloop in 46:28, which was, in turn, a 27-second improvement on the former mark at the time.
14.
Letesenbet Gidey received a prize of 50,000 euros for her world record.
15.
Letesenbet Gidey was in this race and finished second to Kipyegon in a season's best time of 14:07.94.
16.
On 24 October 2021, on her half marathon debut, Letesenbet Gidey finished in 62m 52s at the Valencia Half Marathon, becoming the first woman to run under 64 minutes and under 63 minutes, and improving upon previous Ruth Chepng'etich's world record by 70 seconds.
17.
Letesenbet Gidey held off a twin Kenyan challenge in a nail-biting finish 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.
18.
Letesenbet Gidey finished second behind Amane Beriso with a time of 2:16:49, setting a record for the fastest ever at the time women's marathon debut and placing sixth on the world all-time list.
19.
Letesenbet Gidey then stumbled and collapsed, and was eventually disqualified after requiring assistance.
20.
At the 2023 World Athletics Championships, Letesenbet Gidey won silver in the women's 10,000 metres.
21.
In 2024, after racing one 5000m race at a Diamond League meeting in Suzhou, Letesenbet Gidey did not run at the Ethiopian 10,000 metres trial race and was not selected to the Ethiopian team for the 2024 Summer Olympics.