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Tigst Assefa

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In this Ethiopian name, the name Assefa Tessema is a patronymic, and the person should be referred by the given name, Tigst.

Tigst Assefa
Tigst at the 2024 London Marathon
Personal information
Full nameTigst Assefa Tessema
Born (1996-12-03) 3 December 1996 (age 29)[1]
Holeta, Oromia, Ethiopia[1]
Height167 cm (5 ft 6 in)[1]
Spouse
Eyob Elias[2]
Sport
CountryEthiopia
SportAthletics
Event
Long-distance running
Coached byGemedu Dedefo
Achievements and titles
Highest world ranking1st (Marathon, 2023)[3]
Personal bests
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  Ethiopia
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2024 Paris Marathon
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2025 Tokyo Marathon
World Marathon Majors
Gold medal – first place 2022 Berlin Marathon
Gold medal – first place 2023 Berlin Marathon
Gold medal – first place 2025 London Marathon
Gold medal – first place 2026 London Marathon
Silver medal – second place 2024 London Marathon
African Junior Championships
Silver medal – second place 2013 Bambous 4x400 m relay
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Bambous 800 m

Tigst Assefa Tessema (Amharic: ትእግስት አሰፋ; Oromo: Tigist Asaffaa Tasammaa; born 3 December 1996)[4] is an Ethiopian long-distance runner and the current world record holder in the women's marathon. She has won four World Marathon Majors, twice in Berlin and twice in London. A former 800 metres specialist, Tigst switched to road races in 2018 and ran her first marathon in 2022.[5]

At the age of 16, she won the bronze medal in the 800 metres 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[5] and defeated the world record by 2 minutes and 11 seconds at the 2023 Berlin Marathon, on 24 September, with a time of 2 hours 11 minutes and 53 seconds,[6][7] becoming the first woman to break the 2:14, 2:13, and 2:12 barriers in a marathon. Tigst subsequently set the world record for a women's-only marathon at the 2025 London Marathon, a record she went on to break herself one year later.

Career

[edit]
Tigst (in yellow shirt) at a meet in Reims, France in 2013

At the age of 12, Tigst won the bronze medal in the 400 metres at the 2009 senior Ethiopian Athletics Championships, stopping the clock at 56.70 seconds.[4] 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 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.[4]

In 2013, aged 16, Tigst became Ethiopian junior champion, clocking 2:01.25 in Bellinzona, Switzerland, and earned bronze at the African Junior Championships held in Réduit, Mauritius, where she also added silver for the 4 × 400 m relay. The following year, she ran 1:59.24 at the Lausanne Diamond League, finished fourth at the African Championships in Marrakesh, won the ISTAF Berlin meet, and placed fourth at the IAAF Continental Cup in Marrakesh.[4]

In 2016, Tigst represented Ethiopia in the 800 metres at the World Indoor Championships held in Portland, United States and at the Rio Olympic Games in Brazil. She failed to advance past preliminary rounds both in the first and second event.[4]

After 2016, Tigst moved to road racing as an ongoing Achilles tendon injury prevented her from training in spikes. After a two-year break, in November 2018, she raced the 10 km in Dubai for a time of 34:35.[5] Tigst improved by almost three minutes (31:45) in Germany the following year, when she debuted in the half marathon at the Valencia Half Marathon in Spain, finishing fifth in 68:24.[4]

2022: #3 female marathon all time

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In March, after a two-year hiatus due to a career-threatening injury sustained in 2019 in Valencia and also the COVID-19 pandemic, Tigst debuted in the marathon distance at the inaugural Riyadh Marathon, finishing seventh with a time of 2:34:01.[5][7] She competed in five additional races from March through June, competing in three 10 km events and two half marathons, winning all of them and setting new personal bests (30:52 in Langueux, France and 67:28 at the adizero Road to Records event in Herzogenaurach, Germany, respectively.[4]

Tigst set the third-fastest female performance in history at the Berlin Marathon in September. She stopped the clock at two hours 15 minutes 37 seconds, her winning time slower only than 2:14:04 of world record-holder Brigid Kosgei and 2:15:25 of former record-holder Paula Radcliffe, an over 18 minutes improvement of her personal best. Running with a negative split, after the 68:13 first half of the race, her second half of 67:24 was faster by 4 s than her then half marathon lifetime best.[8][9][10] In December, she won the Bahrain Royal Night Half Marathon in Manama.[4]

2023: World marathon record – first woman under 2:14, 2:13 and 2:12

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External media
WR at the 2023 Berlin Marathon
Images
image icon With a lead car's clock[11]
Video
video icon Crossing the finish line[12]

On 24 September, wearing super shoes, Tigst competed at the 2023 Berlin Marathon and set a new female world record with a time of 2:11:53, chopping two minutes and eleven seconds from Brigid Kosgei's record of 2:14:04 from the 2019 Chicago Marathon. Tigst became the first woman to break the 2:14, 2:13 and 2:12 barriers in a marathon. She completed the first half of the race almost two minutes faster than the previous year with a time of 66:20 and the second half in 65:33. Tigst beat the runner-up by almost six minutes, with the assistance of pacemaker Girmay Birhanu Gebru for almost the entire race.[13][7][6][14]

This was the first time that an Ethiopian woman broke the marathon world record. Tigst's time was faster than the old men's world best mark of her compatriot Abebe Bikila, who in 1960. Her time would have been the men's world record until December 1967.[15][16] She received an World Athlete of the Year award in the Out of Stadium category.[17]

Tigst's record was later initially broken by Ruth Chepng'etich, who ran 2:09:56 at the 2024 Chicago Marathon; however, Chepng'etich was banned for doping in 2025 and her record voided.[18][19]

2024: Olympic games 2024 – silver medal on the marathon

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On August 11, 2024, Tigst finished second in the Olympic marathon with a time of 2:22:58, three seconds behind winner Sifan Hassan. In the final sprint, Tigst drifted towards the barriers, resulting in a collision with Hassan and causing both athletes to stumble. Hassan then passed Tigst and won the race by the narrowest margin in the history of women's olympic marathons. Afterwards, the Ethiopian team filed a protest to disqualify Hassan due to obstruction, which was rejected by the Jury of Appeal. At the post-race news conference, Tigst stated through a translator "I didn't expect at that moment it would happen. Maybe at that moment, if she didn't push me I would have the gold."[20][21]

2025: London Marathon – gold medal and breaking women's-only world record

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On 27 April 2025, Tigst won the 45th London Marathon and set a world record for a women-only marathon.[22]

Achievements

[edit]

Information from World Athletics profile.[4]

Personal bests

[edit]
Type Event Time Date Place Notes
Track 400 metres 54.05 27 June 2012 Porto-Novo, Benin
800 metres 1:59.24 3 July 2014 Lausanne, Switzerland
Road 10 km 30:52 25 June 2022 Langueux, France
Half marathon 1:07:28 30 April 2022 Herzogenaurach, Germany
Marathon 2:11:53 24 September 2023 Berlin, Germany Ethiopian record, 2nd all-time

International competitions

[edit]
Representing  Ethiopia
Year Competition Venue Position Event Time
2012 African Championships Porto-Novo, Benin 19th (sf) 400 m 55.58[note 1]
7th 4 × 400 m relay 3:41.10
2013 African Junior Championships Réduit, Mauritius 3rd 800 m 2:05.6h
2nd 4 × 400 m relay 3:42.2h
2014 African Championships Marrakesh, Morocco 4th 800 m 2:00.43
Continental Cup Marrakesh, Morocco 4th 800 m 2:00.57
2016 World Indoor Championships Portland, United States 12th (h) 800 m i 2:04.55
Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 20th (h) 800 m 2:00.21 SB
2025 World Championships Tokyo, Japan 2nd Marathon 2:24:45
World Marathon Majors
2022 Berlin Marathon Berlin, Germany 1st Marathon 2:15:37 CR NR
2023 Berlin Marathon Berlin, Germany 1st Marathon 2:11:53 CR WR
2024 London Marathon London, England 2nd Marathon 2:16:23
2025 London Marathon London, England 1st Marathon 2:15:50
2026 London Marathon London, England 1st Marathon 2:15:41

Notes

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  1. ^ In the heats Tigst ran a time of 54.05 seconds.

References

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  1. ^ a b c "ASEFFA Tigst". Paris 2024 Olympics. Archived from the original on 11 August 2024. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  2. ^ "Who is the fastest woman in the London Marathon 2025? All about Tigst Assefa profile, career, training, and family". SportPesa Blog. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  3. ^ "World Rankings | Women's Marathon (Half Marathon-25km-30km)".
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Tigst ASSEFA – Athlete Profile". World Athletics. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d Gretschel, Johanna (28 September 2022). "From the 800 to the Marathon: The Story Behind Tigist Assefa's Berlin Breakthrough". Runner's World. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  6. ^ a b Ingle, Sean (24 September 2023). "Tigist Assefa smashes marathon world record in Berlin in new £400 shoes". The Guardian. ISSN 1756-3224. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  7. ^ a b c Miller, Ben (29 September 2023). "Marathon record breaker Tigst Assefa, her coach and experts on historic run". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  8. ^ "Kipchoge breaks world record in Berlin with 2:01:09". World Athletics. 25 September 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  9. ^ "Eliud Kipchoge (2:01:09) Smashes World Record; Tigist Assefa (2:15:37) Stuns World at 2022 Berlin Marathon". LetsRun.com. 25 September 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  10. ^ Henderson, Jason (25 September 2022). "Eliud Kipchoge smashes world marathon record in Berlin". AW. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  11. ^ "Berlin Marathon: Assefa smashes women's world record – DW – 09/24/2023".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  12. ^ "BMW BERLIN-MARATHON - YouTube".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  13. ^ "Assefa smashes women's marathon world record". BBC Sport. 24 September 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  14. ^ Geddes, Linda (25 September 2023). "Did Tigist Assefa's 'super shoes' make her a record-breaking marathon winner?". The Guardian. ISSN 1756-3224. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  15. ^ Gault, Jonathan (24 September 2023). "Tigst Assefa Obliterates Women's Marathon World Record with 2:11:53 in Berlin". Let's Run. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  16. ^ Rowbottom, Mike (25 September 2023). "Why Assefa's landmark women's world marathon record may not last that long". Inside the Games. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  17. ^ "World Athletes of the Year 1988-2025". World Athletics. 30 November 2025. Retrieved 2 April 2026.
  18. ^ "Ruth Chepngetich does something no other woman has done before in 2024 Chicago Marathon with likely world record finish". NBC Chicago. 13 October 2024. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
  19. ^ "Ruth Chepng'etich, marathon world-record holder, gets 3-year doping ban". ESPN.com. 23 October 2025. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  20. ^ "Sifan Hassan wins women's marathon at Paris Olympics after trading elbows with Tigst Assefa". AP News. 11 August 2024. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  21. ^ "Sifan Hassan wins women's marathon at Paris Olympics, edging ahead of Tigst Assefa". Voice of America. 11 August 2024. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  22. ^ "Assefa sets world record, Sawe destroys elite field in London Marathon". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
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