There must be something in the DNA of the Ethiopian Dibaba sisters that make speed and beauty a “follow come” feature in their genes and with concurrent world records, four Olympic gold medals, two silver medals, three bronze, and 15 world championships to boast of, they have proven to be the fastest siblings and indeed, family on the face of the earth.
In the history of World Sports, no siblings or family have ever come close to what the Dibaba Sister-athletes have done. The closest were the famous Tennis Star-Sisters – Serena and Venus Williams, yet they weren’t close enough. The Dibaba Sisters of 5 namely; Tirunesh, Genzebe, Ejegayehu, Anna, and Melat have also carved themselves into an athletic brand that will be difficult to beat in the world of sports.
From the humble mud hut on the outskirts of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia they were born and raised by parents who were farmers growing wheat, teff, barley, and rearing dairy cows. According to Vogue, their mother, Gutu, attributes the women’s success to a loving environment as well as a steady supply of milk from the family cows and a healthy diet of wheat, barley, and teff from their farms. They are a big family of seven siblings, and every one of them is a runner. Their younger brother, Dejene, has been tipped for similar greatness in the future by sports experts. life in the countryside shaped the Dibaba sisters into an athletic powerhouse. It was by default that they all ended up in the tracks and rose to global fame as the world’s fastest family.
They got introduced into athletics by a Cousin named Tulu, who runs for Ethiopia and went on to become the first Female African to win a gold medal in the Olympics in 1992.
The most decorated of the sisters, Tirunesh, has three Olympic gold medals. She made history at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing as the first woman to win gold in the 5,000 meters and 10,000-meter races. In 2012, she won gold at the London Olympics and became the first woman to win the event two consecutive times.
Genzebe won a silver medal at the Rio Olympics in 2016 and Anna has been representing Ethiopia in international competitions since 2017. Their older sister, Ejegayehu, is an Olympian with a silver medal from the Athens Olympics in 2004.
The family’s eldest sister, 40-year-old Ejegayehu, boasts a silver medal in the 10,000m at the 2004 Athens Olympics, and bronze medals in both the 5000m and 10,000m at the 2005 World Championships.
Their cousin Derartu Tulu in 1992 was the first Black African woman to win Olympic gold. As such, this makes the Dibaba family Olympic royalty and the joy and pride of Ethiopia.
