Tigst Assefa
Tigst Assefa Tessema (Amharic: ትእግስት አሰፋ; born 3 December 1996) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner and the marathon female world record holder. She is the only woman in history to run a marathon in under two hours 12 minutes and two hours 13 minutes. She has competed in and won two top-tier World Marathon Majors, both in Berlin. A former 800 metres specialist, Tigst was the first woman to break 2:00 in the event and 2:20:00 in the marathon, and remains the only woman under 2:00 and 2:13:00, respectively.
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Tigst Assefa Tessema | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 3 December 1996 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 53 kg (117 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Ethiopia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event | Long-distance running | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Gemedu Dedefo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highest world ranking | 1st (Marathon, 2023) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal bests | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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At the age of 16, she won the bronze medal in the 800 m at the 2013 African Junior Championships. She finished fourth at the senior African Championships the following year, and then represented Ethiopia in the event at the 2016 Rio Olympics aged 19. Tigst ran then the third-fastest female marathon in history at the 2022 Berlin Marathon and obliterated the world record by 2:11 minutes at the 2023 Berlin Marathon, on 24 September, with a time of 2 hours 11 minutes and 53 seconds, becoming the first woman to break the 2:14-hour, 2:13-hour and 2:12-hour barriers in a marathon.