Letesenbet Gidey

On 14 June, Letesenbet ran the 5000 metres at the Ethiopian Championships to finish 3rd 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][8]

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. Letesenbet ran 20:30 sec ahead of Dagmawit Kbru and Etagegn Weldu, who came 2nd and 3rd in 20:31 and 20:32 respectively.[9] On 28 March, she competed at the World Cross Country Championships in Guiyang, China, winning the U20 world title on the 6030m course in a time of 19:48; together with her Ethiopian teammates Letesenbet won also the team title. At the age of 17, she was the youngest junior women's winner in 15 years. Fellow Ethiopians Dera Dida finished second and Etagegne Woldu third, in 19:49 and 19:53, respectively.[10]

On 21 June, Letesenbet won a 5000m 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.[11][12][13]

On 15 July, she ran the 3000m girls' race at the World U18 Championships in Cali, Colombia. Shuru Bulo of Ethiopia won in a time of 9:01.12, and Kenyans Emily Chebet Kipchumba and Sheila Chelangat placed second and third in 9:02.92 and 9:04.54, respectively. Letesenbet finished fourth in 9:04.64.[14]

On 22 May, Letesenbet won the 5000 meters in Hengelo, Netherlands in a time of 14:58.44.[15] On 30 June, she won the event at the track meet in Barcelona with a time of 14:45.63, defeating Genzebe Dibaba who dropped out after 3600m.[16]

She won the women's junior race at the Ethiopian Cross Country championships on 13 February in Addis Ababa.[17] On 26 March, she won the U20 World Cross Country Championship on a 6 km course in Kampala, Uganda. Hawi Feysa finished second and Celliphine Chespol was third.[18]

The 19-year-old competed in the 5000m event at the World Championships in London.[19] She advanced to the finals and finished 11th of 14 starters, stoping 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 the bronze went to Sifan Hassan in 14:42.74.[20]

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 while Daisy Jepkemei finished second in 18:18.[21] On 26 May, she ran the 5000m at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, US, and placed second in a time of 14:30.29.[15] Genzebe Dibaba won in 14:26.89 and Obiri was third in 14:35.03.[22]

On 10 February 2019, Letesenbet competed in the 10 km run at the Jan Meda Cross Country Championships in Addis Ababa, and placed second with a time of 35:55. The winner of the event was Dera Dida in 35:50.[23]

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

She raced the 10,000m at the Ethiopian National championships in Addis Ababa on 8 May, winning in a time of 32:10.2; Tsehay Gemechu was second in 32:17.2.[24][25][26] On 19 May, Letesenbet ran the 10k in Bengaluru, India. She placed second, with Agnes Tirop the winner and Senbere Teferi in third place. All three women finished with the same time of 33:55.[27][28] At the Diamond League Prefontaine Classic meet in Palo Alto, CA on 30 June, she took third place in a 3000m race with a time of 8:20.27. The winner was Sifan Hassan in 8:18.49, a European record, and Konstanze Klosterhalfen was second in 8:20.07.[29][30] Seven of the top 15 runners ran personal bests.[31][32] Letesenbet won the 10,000m Ethiopian trials on 17 July. Her winning time on the track in Hengelo, Netherlands was 30:37.89. World half-marathon champion Netsanet Gudeta was the runner-up in 30:40.85.[33]

At the Diamond League final in Brussels, Letesenbet finished second in the 5000m with a time of 14:29.54. Hassan won the race in 14:26.26 while Klosterhalfen, the German record-holder, placed third in 14:29.89; the Kenyan world champion Obiri was fourth in 14:33.90.[34][35]

On 28 September, Letesenbet took the silver medal in the 10,000m at the World Championships in Doha. The race was won by Hassan in a time of 30:17.33, a new Dutch national record. Letesenbet finished in a personal best of 30:21.23, with Agnes Tirop from Kenya third in 30:25.50.[36]

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.[37][38] Letesenbet 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.[37][39] Letesenbet received a prize of 50,000 euros for her world record.[40]

At the Diamond League Monaco meet on 14 August, Letesenbet finished the 5000m second in a time of 14:26.57. Hellen Obiri won in 14:22.12, a meeting record. Laura Weightman placed third with 14:35.44.[41]

On 7 October 2020, at the NN Valencia World Record Day meet, she broke Tirunesh Dibaba's 2008 record in the 5000m taking more than 4 seconds off to stop the clock at 14m 06.62s.[42]

On 6 June, Sifan Hassan set a 10,000m world record of 29:06.82. Just two days later, on 8 June, Letensebet broke Hassan's record at the Ethiopian trials on the same track with a time of 29m 01.03s, running the last lap in 1 minute and 3 seconds.[43]

Running in the event at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics in August, she took a bronze medal, however. After 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 in 30:01.72.[44]

On 24 October 2021, in her half marathon debut, Letensebet finihed 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 a Ruth Chepng'etich's world record by 70 seconds (52 s upon an unratified mark of Yalemzerf Yehualaw).[45]

• Ethiopian Athletics Championships
  • 10,000 metres: 2019