Ethiopian Genzebe Dibaba is at it again, achieving yet another world record to add to her flurry of global best times in middle and long-distance events.
This time the accomplishment, her sixth world indoor record, came in Sabadell, Spain on Tuesday with a record 2,000 metre time of 5min 23.75sec, improving upon the previous best by Romania’s Gabriela Szabo in 1998 by seven seconds.
Dibaba turns 26 today, and there is no better way to celebrate than by adding yet another record to her personal haul.
The Olympic 1,500m silver medallist, who also holds the overall record for the outdoor 1,500m, has earned the world records in the indoor 1,500m, one mile, 3,000m, two miles and 5,000m races.
The time she recorded this week in Catalonia is also faster than the outdoor 2,000m record set by Ireland’s Sonia O’Sullivan in 1994.
Dibaba has completely dominated the competition in her chosen distances, and will be a serious medal hopeful for Ethiopia come the 2020 Olympics in Japan, when she will be 29 years old.
Excellence runs through Genzebe Dibaba’s veins, with her sisters Tirunesh Dibaba and Ejegayehu Dibaba tasting success on the track as the three-time Olympic champion and Olympic silver medallist respectively. She is also the cousin of former Olympic champion Derartu Tulu.
The world record-holding middle and long-distance runner is the latest champion to emerge from the famous Dibaba clan, and remains an incredible example for young runners across the globe, considering all that she has achieved before her 26th birthday.