Tigst Assefa started her athletics career as an 800m runner, representing her nation at the Rio 2016 Olympics. Despite not advancing past the qualifying rounds, the experience was invaluable. However, a severe Achilles tendon injury forced her to switch to road racing after she could no longer run in spikes.
Following a two-year break to recover, Assefa made her 10k debut in Dubai in 2018 and improved her time by nearly three minutes in 2019. She then made her half marathon debut in Valencia, Spain, running an impressive time of 1:08:25.
Another two-year break came due to the global pandemic, but under the guidance of coach Gemedu Dedefo, who has also coached world champion Tamirat Tola, Assefa returned to training and made her marathon debut in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in March 2022. Despite not being fully fit at the time, she finished in an impressive time of 2:34:01.
Six months later, Assefa achieved a stunning victory at the Berlin Marathon, finishing in a time of 2:15:37 – the third fastest time ever recorded. Her coach praised her performance and called her “the fastest woman he had ever seen.”
Assefa’s incredible achievement made her the fastest woman ever and earned her worldwide recognition. When asked about her chances for the Paris Olympics next year, she remained humble but expressed hope to participate in the Games.
