20 Most Famous Ethiopian Athletes of All Time

Image: Olympic great Haile Gebrselassie. By Unknown. Wikimedia Commons

20 Most Famous Ethiopian Athletes of All Time

*Originally published by Pamela in October 2022 and updated by Felix in May 2024 

There are numerous acclaimed famous people in Ethiopia working and continue breaking records in the field of sports. Ethiopia is a land with a dynamic culture and rich practices.

A multilingual country with around 80 ethno-phonetic gatherings, Ethiopia is famous for its variety. Every one of its ethnic gatherings has novel social sounds going from customary music to Christian and common music.

Ethiopians are for the most part well known for displaying their actual ability in sports. The world universally perceives Ethiopia for its center distance and marathon runners like Haile Gebreselassie; the World Olympic boss, and multi-gold medalists Meseret Defar and Tirunesh Dibaba.

In this article, we investigate the twenty most famous Ethiopian athletes of all time.

1. Haile Gebrselassie

Haile Gebrselassie (conceived on April 18, 1973), is a significant distance street and track competitor. For the north of 10,000 meters occasion, he has 2 Olympic gold awards and 4 Big showdown titles. Haile has likewise won the Berlin Long distance race an unbelievably multiple times in succession and the Dubai Long distance race, multiple times successively.

Haile likewise came out on top for 4 big showdowns for inside and was named 2001’s Reality Half Long distance race Champion. He brought home numerous worldwide championships for the distances of 1500 meters and the long-distance race, yet decided to get away from outside/indoor and cross-country running, settling on-street running. In his renowned lifetime, Haile has broken 61 Ethiopian public records, for distances of 800 meters to the long-distance race; he has likewise established 27 worldwide bests.

2. Tsgabu Grmay

Riding for UCI WorldTeam Bahrain-Merida, Tsgabu is a double cross public street race champion, double cross public time preliminary boss, and a one-time African time, preliminary hero.

All that was after turning into unquestionably the primary Ethiopian expert cyclist, back in 2012 when he joined MTN-Qhubeka. He proceeded to turn into the first of his comrades to win a worldwide cycling rivalry, winning the fifth phase of the Visit de Taiwan.

He grew up close to the city of Mekelle and comes from a family that loves sports. Two of his sibling and father contended in nearby bicycle races in Ethiopia. He is just 26, we’re eager to see what his future has coming up.

3. Amina Shakur

For quite some time Amina plays satisfied parts as a volleyball player, group Pioneer, and mentor. Brought into the world in the Site Locale of Ethiopia and experiencing childhood in Addis Ababa.

Her adoration for volleyball began back in school and in Keble’s; joining her most memorable authority club in 1975. She played in the north of 20 worldwide games and dominated different awards for her country.

Yet, in a disastrous new development, in 1985 Amina experienced a mishap in preparing that left her visually impaired. Not before she solidified her place in ladies’ volleyball nonetheless.

4. Meseret Defar

Image: defar. By filip bossuyt. Wikimedia Commons

Meseret Defar brought into the world on November 19, 1983, is a significant distance street and track competitor who has obliterated world records and won various gold decorations at different global rivalries. She is for the most part centered around the 3,000 and 5,000 meters races, which she ruled. In 2006, Meseret beat the world record for the 5,000-meter occasion, beat it again in 2007, and held it till Tirunesh Dibaba beat it in 2008.

Among her numerous decorations for the 5,000 meters occasion, Meseret won gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics, bronze at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and silver and gold at the Big showdowns. She has likewise won 4 back to back gold decorations for the 3,000 meters occasion at the IAAF World Indoor Titles from the year 2004 through to 2010.

Moreover, Meseret was a 2 time champion at the All Africa Games, 2-time gold medalist at the World Junior Titles, and a 4-time medalist at the African Titles.

5. Robel Kiros Habte

She was brought into the world in Adama, Ethiopia, the child of Kiros Habtre Kinfe, who is the leader of the Ethiopian Swimming Alliance. Robel is perhaps of the best proficient swimmer in Ethiopian history.

However, he glanced somewhat rusty in Rio 2016. He holds the 100-meter butterfly, the 50 and 100-meter free-form Ethiopian title records.

He has decently addressed his country in rivalries from one side of the planet to the other: Mozambique, Russia, Spain, Brazil, Morocco, Qatar, and Singapore. As far as possible from the youth Olympic games to the authority Olympics.

6.Abebe Bikila Long distance Runner

Abebe Bikila affectionately alluded to as the “shoeless sprinter”, is generally renowned for the gold decoration he won for Ethiopia at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, while establishing another worldwide best.

Abebe is a trailblazer who established the groundwork for and went about as a motivation to the present relentless East African marathon runners. He partook in 16 long-distance races and won 12 of them. Abebe likewise accepted his second gold award at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, while breaking his reality record.

He tragically was tormented by wounds all through his vocation, and in 1969, an auto collision would keep Abebe from truly strolling once more. He is recollected today as one of the greats in significant distance running; schools, occasions, and an arena utilize his name to respect him.

7. Kenenisa Bekele

Image: Ethiopian athlete Kenenisa Bekele. By Ian Robertson. Wikimedia Commons

Kenenisa Bekele (conceived June 13, 1982), is a significant distance street and track competitor. In the 2004 Olympics, he won the gold for the 10,000 meters occasion, while figuring out how to get the silver for the 5,000 meters. In the 2008 summer Olympics, Kenenisa did what he neglected to do in 2004, and that was to get the gold for both the 5,000 meters and the 10,000-meter occasions. Besides the Olympics, Kenenisa is the best competitor throughout the entire existence of the IAAF World Cross-country Titles.

In the 2009 Big showdown Sports, Kenenisa turned into the first man to win both the 5000 meters and 10,000 meters at a similar contest. He likewise brought home Big showdown bronze in 2003, 2 African Title titles, 1 Africa Games gold decoration, and gold at the 2006 World Indoor Titles for the 3000 meters. In 2016, he won the Berlin Long distance race, making him the third-quickest long-distance runner ever.

8. Seifu Makonnen

Seifu was brought into the world in 1953 and he was a double cross Olympic fighter from Ethiopia. Since a youthful age, he had shown an interest in sports, displaying guarantee as a jock even by the age of 12. It was Muhammad Ali who propelled him, thus he chose to get into boxing.

He turned into a triumph and the Ethiopian Olympic Board of trustees picked him for the group back at the 1972 Munich Olympics, battling in the light heavyweight division.

At the Olympics he lost his main session to a tie for places, completing 10th out of 28 contenders in the last. He proceeded to partake in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal where many inclined toward him for the decoration. Tragically he was eventually incapable of battle, because of the African blacklist of the Olympics.

9. Elias Ymer

Image: Ymer at Wimbledon 2022. By si.robi. Wikimedia Commons

Brought into the world in Stockholm yet of Ethiopian plunge, Elias is a demonstrated but extremely encouraging youthful tennis star. At just the ready age of 21, he has a profession-high ATP single positioning of 118 which he accomplished on May 23, 2016.

He has been equipped for some competitions including the French and Australian Opens, as well as the draw for the 2015 Wimbledon Titles and the 2015 US Open. He won the Stockholm Open on October 23, 2016, and we are sure he will win a lot more competitions later on.

10. Buay Tuach

Buay is a forward from Ethiopia at present playing in Germany for an expert group named Phoenix Hagen. A club with a remarkable ball custom. He is 22 years of age and 6’5″ (198cm).

He started his vocation in upper east CC and afterward came to Loyola Mary in the NCAA in 2015. Buay is Ethiopian, however, he experienced childhood in Texas and Nebraska in the US.

At the point when gotten some information about the absence of ball players from his nation of origin and that he was so pleased to be an expert b-ball player, he said:

“I’m exceptionally glad for my folks and my lovely African qualities since it’s who I am and I thank the man above us for gifting me with such a lot of ability and assurance.”

11. Tirunesh Dibaba

Eckhard Pecher (Arcimboldo), CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

The name Tirunesh Dibaba spells legacy when it comes to long-distance running. She is without a doubt one of the greatest athletes in the history of athletics in Ethiopia. She is also one of the most decorated women in the sport.

Dibaba’s rise to stardom began when she burst onto the scenes in 2003 at the tender age of eighteen years. To make things interesting, she did not just participate in the 2003 world championship but won a gold medal for the 5000m race. This was the beginning of her illustrious career in athletics.

Over the next years, Dibaba dominated the sport winning three gold medals in the Olympics. She won five world championships and broke the record for the 5000-meter race. By 2017, Dibaba had won ten gold medals and printed her name in history books as one of the greatest athletes, not just in Ethiopia but in the world.

12. Derartu Tulu

Derartu Tulu has always been a history maker in athletics beginning with her 1992 gold medal in Barcelona Olympics when she came first in the 10,000m race. She was just at the age of twenty years and she became the first black African to win the title.

Tutu’s victory in Barcelona marked a new beginning in athletics as she helped shatter the barriers and stereotypes in the sport. She is also remembered for her legendary dance celebration after that legendary win.

Coming from a humble family and being the youngest of ten children, Tutu went on to become a force in athletics and was recognized globally. She helped put Ethiopia on the global map.

13. Million Wolde

Million Wolde became a legend when he stunned everyone by winning a double gold medal in 1964 during the Tokyo Games. His wins made him an icon in Ethiopia as he became the first man to win two golds breaking history on both occasions.

Coming into the games at the age of twenty-eight, Million was less known by many people. However, he became an icon when he won the 10,000m Olympic record shocking everybody. He later on won the 5000m race in another record becoming the most famous person in the world at that time.

Back home in Ethiopia, he became a legend for making his country proud and cementing his name in the history of athletics.

14. Tiki Gelana

Chmee2, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Tiki Gelana became a highly sought-after name during the 2012 London Games when she won the gold medal in the London Marathon. This being her second marathon in her career after coming second in her first marathon, Tiki showed how resilient and determined she was to become the best athlete in her home country and the world.

At twenty-four years old, Tiki had mastered the art of running through her ability to maintain her blistering pace over long distances. Her triumph in London also ended her country’s forty-year wait for the accolade, thus becoming a legend in Ethiopia.

15. Almaz Ayana

Erik van Leeuwen, attribution: Erik van Leeuwen (bron: Wikipedia)., GFDL, via Wikimedia Commons

Almaz Ayana announced herself to the world during the 2015 World Championship when she won the gold medal in Beijing at the tender age of just twenty-three years old. This was the best way to kickstart her bright career in the sport.

A year later, Ayana re-announced herself to the global stage when she shattered the existing world record in the 10,000m race. She finished the race at a top speed recording an almost impossible time to take more than ten seconds off the existing record.

a few days later, Ayana won the gold medal for the 5000m race becoming the first woman to compete in both the 10,000 and 5,000m race at the same Olympics. She will never be forgotten.

16. Miruts Yifter

Antero Raevuori / Helsingin Sanomat, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Miruts Yifter also known as ‘The Shifter’ for his high finishing speed is an Ethiopian legend in the middle and long distance races. He is remembered for his incredible performances at the Moscow Olympics in 1980.

Despite being forty years old, Yifter won two gold medals during the games including the 10,000m and 5000m a few days later. He remained a legend in the sport until he died in 2016 at seventy-two years.

17. Fatuma Roba

While Ethiopia had waited for almost three decades for a gold medal in the women’s category, Fatuma Roba came to the rescue during the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Having already won the Boston Marathon in 1994 and 1995, Roba came to the Atlanta Olympics in high spirits and was willing to win.

With the Atlanta heat at the peak, Roba was in a trio race with two other women. With the finish line in sight, Roba found an extra gear and pulled away from the two women dramatically winning the race. She immediately became a legend in Ethiopia.

18. Mamo Wolde

Paco Marí, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Mamo Wolde became an overnight legend in Ethiopia when he became the first Ethiopian to win the first Olympic marathon in Mexico City in 1968. He also won it against all odds because not many people believed he could win.

Going into the Mexico City marathon, the twenty-one-year-old Wolde was considered an underdog as he was about to race against established athletes. However, people were shocked when he came to the finish line alone with his arms raised in a fashionable victory and a record-breaking time.

His win in Mexico marked the beginning of his high-flying career in the sport as he went on to defend the medal four years later in Munich. For that, he became immortal in the history of athletics in Ethiopia.

19. Gete Wami

Gete Wami is another legend in the history of Ethiopian athletics whose name became a global topic during the 2007 Berlin half marathon. However, it was in the 2011 games in the Netherlands that she showed everybody what she was capable of doing. She won the marathon in a shocking record-breaking time taking off twenty seconds from the existing record.

Over years from 2009 to 2012, Wami was unbeatable as she won the 10,000m race five times. Her record in the 10,000m was one of the longest-living records until when it was broken in 2021. She is truly a legend.

20. Sileshi Sihine

Last but not least is Sileshi Sihine whose career in athletics lasted for a short time but gave the world his best. He burst into the scenes during the 2002 Rotterdam marathon where he set a world record that had been in place for twenty-seven years.

Even though injuries ruined his high-flying career, his record-breaking run in Rotterdam made him a legend in the history of Ethiopian athletics.

Ethiopia has been put on the global map by the incredible athletes who have marked their names in the history books for their long-distance running prowess. As I look at the list of the greatest track, road racing, and marathon runners, the Ethiopian flag is the first thing to see. These athletes came from humble beginnings and rose to the highest levels in the history of athletics. From the legendary Haile Gabreselassie to modern-day athletes such as Kenenisa Bekele, Ethiopia has produced some of the best men and women in the history of athletics.