Tigst Assefa’s athletics career began as an 800m runner, representing her nation at the Rio 2016 Olympics as a teenager. Unfortunately, she did not advance past the qualifying rounds, but the experience was invaluable. However, an Achilles tendon injury forced her to switch to road racing after she could no longer run in spikes.
After a two-year break to recover, Assefa made her 10k debut in Dubai in 2018, finishing in 34:35. She improved her time by nearly three minutes in 2019 and made her half marathon debut in Valencia, Spain, running an impressive 1:08:25.
The global pandemic caused another two-year break in Assefa’s training, but she returned under the guidance of coach Gemedu Dedefo, who has also coached world champion Tamirat Tola. This preparation led to Assefa’s marathon debut in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in March 2022, where she finished in 2:34:01 despite not being fully fit.
Six months later, Assefa achieved a stunning victory at the Berlin Marathon, finishing in a time of 2:15:37, the third fastest time in history. Her coach praised her performance, calling her the fastest woman he had ever seen.
Assefa’s incredible achievement made her the fastest woman ever and earned her a spot on Ethiopia’s Olympic team for Paris 2024. When asked about her chances for the Games, she remained humble and focused on continuing to improve and compete at the highest level.