Tigst Assefa

Tigst Assefa Tessema (; born 3 December 1996) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner and the marathon female world record holder, the only woman in history to run the distance under two hours and twelve minutes. She is also the only woman to break the 2:13:00 barrier and was the first woman under 2:14:00. Tigst has competed in and won two top-tier World Marathon Majors. A former 800 metres specialist, she was also the first woman to break 2:00 in the event and 2:20:00 in the marathon, and remains the only woman under 2:00 and 2:13:00, respectively. At the age of 16, Tigst won the bronze medal in the 800 m at the 2013 African Junior Championships. She finished fourth at the senior African Championships the following year, and then represented Ethiopia in the event at the 2016 Rio Olympics aged 19. Tigst ran the then third-fastest female marathon in history at the 2022 Berlin Marathon and obliterated the world record by 2:11 minutes at the 2023 Berlin Marathon, on 24 September, with a time of 2:11.53. Career According to Tigst Assefa's World Athletics profile, at the age of 12, she won the bronze medal in the 400 metres at the 2009 senior Ethiopian Athletics Championships, stopping the clock at 56.70 seconds. She gained her first international experience in January 2012, in France, where she competed for the first time in the 800 metres, although failing to finish. The 15-year-old represented that year Ethiopia in the 400 m at the senior African Championships in Athletics in Porto-Novo, Benin, setting a new personal best in the heats with a time of 54.05 s.