They are the only siblings in recorded history to hold concurrent world records; and have 4 Olympic gold medals, two silvers, three bronze and 15 World Championships. Tirunesh, Genzebe, Ejegayehu, Anna, and Melat from Ethiopia, are undoubtedly the fastest family on earth.
The sisters attribute their inspiration to Derartu Tulu, their cousin and the first black African woman to win an Olympic gold medal in the 1992 games. They say that her victory served as a push into athletics for them.
The Dibaba Sisters
These are the women who have left their mark in Olympic history.
Tirunesh Dibaba
Tirunesh Dibaba was born on June 1, 1985, in Ethiopia. She attributes her expertise on the track to running with pails of water she fetched from the river daily after school to help her mother. In 2003, when she was 18, she participated in her first major international competition and became the youngest female athletics world champion in history. She was also crowned world cross-country champion five times between 2003 and 2008.
Tirunesh Dibaba is the middle sister of Ejegayehu and Genzebe Dibaba. She has three Olympic gold medals, five world championship medals, and is the 5000m world record holder. She married Sileshi Sihine, a fellow track-and-field Olympic medalist, in 2008.
Ejegayehu Dibaba
Ejegayehu Dibaba was born 21st March 1982. She is the older sister of Tirunesh and Genzebe Dibaba. She holds numerous awards and is an Olympic medalist like her sisters.
Genzebe Dibaba
Genzebe Dibaba was born on February 8, 1991, in Ethiopia. She holds the 2015 1,500-meter World Champions gold medal. Genzebe, the younger sister of Ejegayehu and Tirunesh, won the most coveted honour in athletics after breaking her first outdoor world record (1500m) and winning the 1500m title; she won the IAAF’s Athlete of the Year award in 2015.
In two weeks in 2014, she broke three world indoor records. This made her crowned the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year award.
When asked, their mother attributed their skill to growing up in a home where they weren’t miserly with love and had fresh cow milk.
