 Almaz at the2015 World Championships in Athletics inBeijing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | (1991-11-21)21 November 1991 (age 33) Wenbera,[1]Benishangul-Gumuz Region, Ethiopia[2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.66 m (5 ft 5 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 47 kg (104 lb)[3] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Ethiopia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event | Long-distance running | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | NN Running Team (2022–) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Olympic finals |
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| World finals |
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| Personalbests |
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Medal record
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Almaz Ayana Eba (Oromo:Almaaz Ayyanaa Eebbaa;Amharic:አልማዝ አያና ኤባ, born 21 November 1991[4]) is an Ethiopianlong-distance runner. She won the gold medal in the10,000 metres and bronze in the5,000 metres at the2016 Rio Olympics. Almaz is a four-timeWorld Athletics Championships medallist earning a bronze for the 5,000m in2013, gold at the event in2015 as well as gold in the 10,000m and silver in the 5,000m in2017.
She broke the 10,000 metres world record, set in 1993, while winning the gold medal at the Rio Olympics and held it until 2021. At the 2017 World Championships in London, Almaz won the title in the 10,000m, finishing 46 seconds ahead of the runner-up. She finished third in both the 5,000m and 10,000m on the respective world all-time lists. In 2016, she was votedIAAFFemale World Athlete of the Year.
Almaz set the fastest ever women's marathon debut at the 2022Amsterdam Marathon.
Almaz Ayana was born inWenbera,Benishangul-Gumuz Region, Ethiopia.[5] Born the seventh youngest of nine siblings, she started running at local school around age 13–14.[6] Like other notable athletes such asFatuma Roba andDerartu Tulu, Almaz is also Oromo descent.[7] In addition to her nativeOromo language,[8] she also speaksAmharic.[9] The name Almaz means 'diamond' in Amharic.
Almaz is married to her childhood friend and longtime partner, Soressa Fida.[5] She is a devout Christian.[5]
At age 21, Almaz won a bronze medal in the5000 metres at the2013 World Championships in Athletics held inMoscow, Russia.
At the2014 African Championships inMarrakech, she defeated favouriteGenzebe Dibaba to take the title in a championship record time of 15:32.72.[10] One month later at theContinental Cup also held in Marrakech, she won the 5000 m by over 24 seconds.[11]
In May 2015, Almaz ran a personal best of 14:14.32 over 5000 m at theDiamond League meeting inShanghai, China, improving significantly upon her previous personal best of 14:25.84 set in 2013 inParis.[12][4] This made her thethird fastest female athlete over that distance, behind compatriotsTirunesh Dibaba, the world record holder, andMeseret Defar. At theBeijing World Championships in August, she put on a stunning display of front-running to win the5000 m final with a time of 14:26.83, setting a new championship record in the process and beating silver medalistSenbere Teferi by more than 17 seconds withGenzebe Dibaba in third.[13] Her win was named the Performance of the Championships by World Athletics.[14] In her final race of the season, Almaz set a new 3000 m meeting record of 8:22.34 to beat Tirunesh Dibaba at theZurich Diamond League.[15]
Almaz opened her season by winning over 3000 m at theDoha Diamond League on the 6 May, running a time of 8:23.11 which narrowly missed her personal best.[16] On 2 June 2016, Almaz set a new personal best in the 5000 m in a time of 14:12.59 at theRomeDiamond League. This made her the second fastest woman ever at this distance, behind only Tirunesh Dibaba's world record of 14:11.15, and established a new circuit record. Later that month, she ran the10,000 metres competitively for the first time at the Ethiopian Olympic trials inHengelo, Netherlands.[17] She posted the fastest ever debut time of 30:07.00, defeating Tirunesh Dibaba and moving up to eighth on the world all-time list.[18]
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At the2016 Summer Olympics held in August inRio de Janeiro, Almaz set a world record of 29:17.45 in the10,000 metres, topping Chinese athleteWang Junxia's 23-year-old world record by 14 seconds.[19][20] No one previously had run within 22 seconds of Wang's record.[21] The 10,000 metres was already an extremely fast race when Ayana broke away with 12 laps to go. Second-placedVivian Cheruiyot of Kenya finished just a second shy of Wang's record and double Olympic 10,000 metres champion Tirunesh Dibaba earned the bronze medal with a 12 seconds improvement on her personal best and the fourth fastest time in history. Multiple national records were set, and eighteen competitors set personal bests.[22] The laxdrug testing regime in Ethiopia[23] and the doping scandals that embroiled athletics before the Rio Olympics caused some to question whether Almaz had been doping.[24] British commentatorsBrendan Foster andPaula Radcliffe, both former world record holders in distance events, were skeptical about Almaz's performance.[20] Fellow competitors reported that before the race, the Ethiopian was coughing and did not seem well.[25] In her post-race press conference, Almaz said her time was purely the outcome of hard training.[26] On 9 September, in her first race since the Olympics, Almaz attempted to break Tirunesh Dibaba's 2008 5000 m world record of 14:11.15 at theBrussels Diamond League.[27] Despite a strong start, she fell short of breaking the record but did set a meeting record of 14:18.99.[28]
On 5 August 2017, Almaz secured a dominant victory as she won over 10,000 metres at theWorld Championships in London with a world-leading 30:16.32,[29][30] She ran her final 5,000 m in 14:24.94, a time that would've placed her seventh on theall-time 5,000 m lists at the time.[31] Her win set the record for the biggest margin of victory over 10,000 m at a World Championship and was described as "one of the finest displays in women’s distance running history" byLetsrun.[31] She went on to add a silver for the 5,000 metres eight days later, having ran a time of 14:40.35 to finish behind Kenya'sHellen Obiri (14:34.86).[32] Almaz made her debut over thehalf marathon at theNew Delhi Half Marathon winning in a time of 1:07:12.[33]
The Ethiopian distance running star took almost three years off due to injury problems and pregnancy. Her only race during this time was at the2019 Prefontaine Classic where she placed 18th over 3,000 m in a time of 8:57.16.[34] Almaz started regularly competing again from April 2022.[4]
Almaz made her return to the track at the 2022FBK Games inHengelo, placing seventh over the 10,000 m in 30:48.48. She also placed sixth over 5,000 m at theOslo Diamond League in 14:32.17.[35]
On 16 October 2022, the 30-year-old made the fastest ever women'smarathon debut of 2:17:20 at theAmsterdam Marathon to win the race and defeat her old-time rival Genzebe Dibaba by 45 seconds. Almaz beat the course record by almost 40 seconds, setting a Dutch all-comers' record (best performance on country's soil) and putting her seventh on theworld all-time list at the time.[36][37]
In 2023, Almaz opened her season by winning theLisbon Half Marathon in a course record of 1:05:30.[38] On 17 September, Almaz competed over the10 mile distance for the first time by placing third at theDam tot Damloop inZaandam in 52:23.[39] She set a new personal best for the marathon of 2:16:20 in finishing second behindWorknesh Degefa at theValencia Marathon.[40]
Information fromWorld Athletics profile unless otherwise noted.
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | World Junior Championships | Moncton, Canada | 5th | 3000 m st. | 9:48.08 |
| 2013 | World Championships | Moscow, Russia | 3rd | 5000 m | 14:51.33 |
| 2014 | African Championships | Marrakech, Morocco | 1st | 5000 m | 15:32.72CR |
| Continental Cup | Marrakech, Morocco | 1st | 5000 m | 15:33.32 | |
| 2015 | World Championships | Beijing, China | 1st | 5000 m | 14:26.83CR |
| 2016 | Olympic Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 3rd | 5000 m | 14:33.59 |
| 1st | 10,000 m | 29:17.45ORWR | |||
| 2017 | World Championships | London, United Kingdom | 2nd | 5000 m | 14:40.35 |
| 1st | 10,000 m | 30:16.32 |
| Surface | Event | Time (h):m:s | Place | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Track | 3000 metres | 8:22.22 | Rabat, Morocco | 14 June 2015 | |
| 5000 metres | 14:12.59 | Rome, Italy | 2 June 2016 | 3rd of all time | |
| 10,000 metres | 29:17.45 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 12 August 2016 | 3rd of all time, previousWR | |
| Road | 10 kilometres | 32:19 | Luanda, Angola | 31 December 2010 | |
| Half marathon | 1:05:30 | Lisbon, Portugal | 12 March 2023 | ||
| Marathon | 2:17:20 | Amsterdam, Netherlands | 16 October 2022 |
2016
| Records | ||
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| Preceded by | Women's 10,000 m World Record Holder 12 August 2016 – 6 June 2021 | Succeeded by |
| Awards | ||
| Preceded by | IAAF World Athlete of the Year 2016 | Succeeded by |
| 3000 metres (1980–1993) |
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| 5000 metres (1995–present) |
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Note: In1995, the 3000 m was replaced by the 5000 m. | |
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African Champions in women's5000 metres | |
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