Kenenisa Bekele Beyecha is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. He was the world record holder in both the 5,000-metre and 10,000-metre from 2004 until 2020. He won the gold medal in both the 5,000 m and 10,000 m events at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. At the 2004 Olympics, he won the gold medal in the 10,000 m and the silver medal in the 5,000 m.
Meseret Defar Tola is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who competes chiefly in the 3,000 metres and 5,000 metres events. She has won medals at top-tier international competitions including Olympic and World Championship gold medals over 5,000 metres. She broke the world record in the event in 2006, broke it again in 2007 and held it until 2008, when fellow Ethiopian Tirunesh Dibaba beat her time.
Tirunesh Dibaba is an Ethiopian athlete who competes in long-distance track events and international road races. She has won three Olympic track gold medals, five World Championship track gold medals, four individual World Cross Country (WCC) adult titles, and one individual WCC junior title. Tirunesh was the 5,000 metres world record holder until 2020 when her compatriot Letesenbet Gidey set a new world record. She is nicknamed the "baby-faced destroyer."
Berhane Adere Debala is a retired Ethiopian long-distance runner who specialised in the 10,000 metres and half marathon. She won the gold medal in the 10,000 m at the 2003 World Championships and silver medals in the event at the 2001 and 2005 World Championships. Berhane claimed gold and silver for the 3,000 metres at the 2003 and 2004 World Indoor Championships, respectively. Her medal in 2003 was Ethiopia’s first world indoor medal in a women’s event. At the half marathon, she was the world champion in 2002, took silver in 2003 and bronze in 2001. She won the Chicago Marathon in 2006 and 2007.
Meselech Melkamu is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. She defeated Meseret Defar to win the 5000 metres gold medal at the 2008 African Athletics Championships, but she is better known for her 29:53.80 run over 10,000 metres in 2009, which until August 2016 ranked her second on the all-time list behind world record holder Wang Junxia. She is one of seven women in history to break the 30-minute barrier and one of four Ethiopians to accomplish the feat.
Kayoko Fukushi is a Japanese long-distance runner, who specializes in the 5000, 10,000 metres and marathon. Fukushi represented Japan at the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics. She was the bronze medallist in the marathon at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics. She holds a marathon best of 2:22:17 hours.
Genzebe Dibaba Keneni is an Ethiopian middle- and long-distance runner. A 1,500 metres 2016 Rio Olympics silver medalist, she won a gold medal in this event and a bronze in the 5,000 metres at the 2015 World Championships. Genzebe is the current world record holder for the indoor events of the one mile, 3,000m and 5,000m.
Shitaye Eshete Habtegebrel is an Ethiopian-born long-distance runner who competes internationally for Bahrain.
Belaynesh Oljira Jemama is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who competes mainly in 10K and half marathon races. She represented her country at the 2012 Summer Olympics, the 2013 World Championships and the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in 2011 and 2013.
Tejitu Daba Chalchissa is an Ethiopian-born long-distance runner who competes internationally for Bahrain. She competes mainly in cross country and track running events. She won the gold medal over 5000 metres at the 2011 Asian Athletics Championships.
Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal is a Norwegian middle-, long-distance and steeplechase runner. She won bronze medals for the 10,000 metres at the 2016 European Championships, and in the 3000 m steeplechase at the 2018 European Championships. Grøvdal earned nine individual medals at the European Cross Country Championships, an unsurpassed record by a female athlete in the meet history.
Betlhem Desalegn Belayneh is an Ethiopian-born Emirati middle-distance runner. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, she competed in the Women's 1500 metres.
Almaz Ayana Eba is an Ethiopian female long-distance runner. She won the gold medal in the 10,000 metres and bronze in the 5,000 metres at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Almaz is a four-time World Athletics Championships medallist earning a bronze for the 5,000m in 2013, gold at the event in 2015 as well as gold in the 10,000m and silver in the 5,000m in 2017.
Sifan Hassan is an Ethiopian-born Dutch middle- and long-distance runner. She is most recognized for her versatility in running championship and world leading performances in widely disparate distances. She completed an unprecedented triple at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, winning gold medals in both the 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres and a bronze medal for the 1,500 metres. Hassan is the only athlete in Olympic history to win medals across a middle-distance event and both long-distance races in a single Games. She is only the second woman to complete an Olympic distance double.
Yomif Kejelcha Atomsa is an Ethiopian distance runner. He won the silver medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2019 World Athletics Championships and gold medals for the 3000 metres at the 2016 and 2018 World Indoor Championships. Kejelcha is the world indoor record holder for the mile with a time of 3:47.01, set on 3 March 2019 in Boston.
Supriyati Sutono is an Indonesian former track and field athlete who competed in long-distance running track events. She set a number of Indonesian national records and remains the 3000 metres record holder. She represented her country at the 2004 Summer Olympics.
Yemaneberhan "Yeman" Crippa is an Ethiopian-born Italian long-distance runner. He won the gold medal in the 10,000 metres and bronze for the 5000 metres at the European Athletics Championships in 2022, and bronze in the 10,000 m in 2018. Crippa claimed four medals in the age-group races at the European Cross Country Championships and a bronze in the senior race in 2019.
Alina Reh is a German middle- and long-distance runner. She won the bronze medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2018 European Athletics Championships. At the European U23 Championships, Reh earned silver for the 5000 metres in 2017 and silver in the event and gold for the 10,000 m in 2019. She took four individual medals at the European Cross Country Championships, including bronze in the senior race in 2021 and 2022.
Selemon Barega Shirtaga is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. He won the gold medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, silver for the 5,000 metres at the 2019 World Championships in Doha and bronze in the 10,000 metres at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest. Barega is a two-time 3,000 metres World Indoor Championship medallist, taking silver in 2018, and a gold in 2022.
