Meseret Defar Tola is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who competes chiefly in the 3000 metres and 5000 metres events. She has won medals at top-tier international competitions including Olympic and World Championship gold medals over 5000 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 competed 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 5000 metres world record holder until 2020 when Letesenbet Gidey set her world record. She is nicknamed the "Baby Faced Destroyer."
Yarisley Silva Rodríguez is a Cuban pole vaulter. She won the silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics – the first Latin American athlete to win an Olympic medal in that event.
Genzebe Dibaba Keneni is an Ethiopian middle- and long-distance runner. A 1500 metres 2016 Rio Olympics silver medalist, she won a gold medal in this event and a bronze in the 5000 metres at the 2015 World Championships. Genzebe is the current world record holder for the 1500m, and the indoor events of the one mile, 3000m and 5000m. She holds the distinction of possessing the most world records by one woman in track history, with her current haul of four, plus two world bests.
The 500 metres is a rarely run middle-distance running event in track and field competitions.
Michel Tresor Komesha Tornéus is a Swedish former long jumper.
The Birmingham Indoor Grand Prix, formerly known as Aviva Indoor Grand Prix, is an annual indoor track and field competition which is held in mid-February at the Arena Birmingham in Birmingham, England. It is one of a handful of events to hold IAAF Indoor Permit Meetings status. As one of the later major meetings of the indoor athletics season, it often serves as preparation for the biennial European Athletics Indoor Championships and IAAF World Indoor Championships. The meeting is directed by former athlete Ian Stewart and attracts numerous high calibre athletes including World and Olympic medallists.
The New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, formerly known as the Boston Indoor Games, is an annual indoor track and field meet which is held in late January or early February at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center. It was first held in Roxbury, a neighborhood in Boston, in 1996 and has become one of the foremost events of its type in the United States, alongside the Millrose Games.
In 2012 the foremost competition in athletics was the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. The International Association of Athletics Federations held four other global level competitions in 2012: the 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships, 2012 IAAF World Race Walking Cup, 2012 World Junior Championships in Athletics and the 2012 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships.
Abeba Aregawi Gebretsadik is an Ethiopian-Swedish retired middle-distance runner who specialised in the 1500 metres. She won the bronze medal in the 1500 m at the 2012 Summer Olympics and a gold medal at the World Championships in 2013. She represented both Ethiopia and Sweden internationally.
Jama Mohamed Aden is a Somali former middle-distance runner and coach who ran for Fairleigh Dickinson University as well as representing Somalia throughout the 1980s. He would go on to pursue a career in coaching world-class middle-distance athletes. He is the older brother of former competitive runner Ibrahim Mohamed Aden.
The following table is an overview of all national records in the 800 metres.
