NYRR Media Center

Letesenbet Gidey is both the 10,000-meter and half-marathon world-record holder – only the second athlete after Ingrid Kristiansen to hold both marks simultaneously. She broke the 10,000-meter record in June 2020 at the Ethiopian Olympic trials by more than four seconds just two days after Sifan Hassan had set a new record. She went on to win a bronze medal in the distance in 2021 at the Tokyo Olympics. In October 2021, she broke the half-marathon world record in her debut in the distance in Valencia, becoming the first woman to run under 63 minutes. Her 70-second improvement of the world record was the biggest drop in the distance since 1978.

Last year, Gidey recorded the fastest women’s marathon debut in history in her runner-up finish of 2:16:49 at the Valencia Marathon.

She also owns three track medals from the World Athletics Championships, having won gold in the 10,000 meters in 2022 and silver in both 2023 and 2019; she additionally won a world bronze medal in cross country in 2019.

Gidey was born in the Tigray region of Ethiopia as the youngest of four siblings, and grew up on her family’s farm. When she was 13, she was expelled from school for refusing to run in physical education classes, and was only allowed to return when she agreed to participate. She returned, and went on to win the steeplechase at the Ethiopian School Championships.