Gemechu Dida Diriba (born 12 September 1999) is an Ethiopian

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...

specializing in

road running Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain. These events are usually classified as long-distance ru ...

. He was the winner of the 2022

Great Ethiopian Run The Great Ethiopian Run () is an annual 10-kilometre road running event which takes place in late November in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. With 45,000 participants, the race has become the biggest road race in Africa. Overview The competition was first ...

, and he has also achieved wins at the

Lille Half Marathon The Lille Métropole Half Marathon ( French: ''Semi-Marathon de Lille Métropole'') is an annual half marathon foot race which takes place in Lille, France, in early September. First organised by the Association de Promotion des Événements Lil ...

10K and

KBC Night of Athletics The KBC Night of Athletics () is an annual athletics event at the Stadium De Veen in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium. It is officially presented and sponsored by the KBC Bank KBC Group N.V. is a Belgian universal multi-channel bank-insurer, focusing ...

5000 m.

Career

Dida debuted at the 2017

, finishing 6th in 29:21 representing the

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...

Development Group. He ran two indoor

3000 m The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000 m shou ...

races in 2018, finishing 5th at the Birmingham Indoor Grand Prix and 6th at the

Adidas Games The Adidas Games, formerly the adidas BOOST Boston Games and today officially known as the adidas Atlanta City Games, is an annual track and field meeting and street meet in Atlanta, Georgia. The event was originally held in Boston, Massachusett ...

in Boston with a best time of 7:42.14. Dida achieved his first international championship experience in 2019, when he was selected to represent Ethiopia at the

2019 African Games The 12th African Games (), also known as Rabat 2019 (), were held from 19 to 31 August 2019 in Rabat, Morocco. This was the first time that the African Games were hosted by Morocco following the country's readmission to the African Union in Janua ...

following his 13:17.47 5000 m performance at that year's

Fanny Blankers-Koen Games The Fanny Blankers-Koen Games, abbreviated as FBK Games, is an annual track and field event at the Fanny Blankers-Koen Stadion in Hengelo, Netherlands. It is named after Fanny Blankers-Koen in 1981, but was named Adriaan Paulen Memorial after A ...

. In his African Games final, Dida finished 10th in 13:46.40. After recording only two races in 2020, Dida competed in his first national final in 2021, finishing 4th over 5000 m at the

Ethiopian Athletics Championships The Ethiopian Athletics Championships is an annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Ethiopian Athletics Federation, which serves as the national championship for the sport in Ethiopia. The competition was first held in 1971.

and then finishing 10th at their separate 5000 m Olympic trials two months later in

Hengelo Hengelo (; Tweants dialect, Tweants: ) is a city in the eastern part of the Netherlands, in the Twente region, in the province of Overijssel. It is part of a larger urban area that also includes Enschede, Borne, Overijssel, Borne, Almelo and Ol ...

. Dida won the 2021

5000 m in 13:14.39 over heavy rainfall, earning him the moniker "lord and master". On 23 January 2022, Dida achieved the highest profile win of his career at the

10K road race. There was a large pack of runners in the beginning of the race, with six athletes still in the lead pack at 9,500 metres. Dida out-kicked the

Dubai Marathon The Dubai Marathon is an annual road-based marathon hosted by the emirate of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, since 1998. The marathon is categorized as a Gold Label Road Race by World Athletics. History Initial era The inaugural Dubai Marat ...

winner

Getaneh Molla Getaneh Tamire Molla (born 10 January 1994) is an Ethiopian male long-distance runner who competes over distances up to 10K run, 10K. He was the gold medallist in the 5000 metres at the 2015 African Games. Geteneh's first success at national lev ...

to win in a surprise victory. His winning time of 28:24 was only five seconds slower than the course record. Having moved up in distance to the

10,000 m The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship-level events. The ...

, Dida would win the bronze medal at that year's

and would set a

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish, or shortcu ...

best of 59:21 in his debut at the Romaostia Half Marathon. Dida finished 5th at the Ethiopian trials for the

2023 World Athletics Championships The 2023 World Athletics Championships (), the nineteenth edition of the World Athletics Championships, were held from 19 to 27 August 2023 at the National Athletics Centre (Budapest), National Athletics Centre, in Budapest, Hungary. The tourna ...

10,000 m, held in

Nerja Nerja () is a municipality on the Costa del Sol in the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain. It is part of the comarca of La Axarquía. It is on the country's southern Mediterranean coast, about east of ...

. He would nonetheless achieve wins at the 2023

10K and the Urban Trail de Lille 10K, the former in a

personal best A personal record, or a personal best (abbreviated to PB), is an individual's best performance in a given sporting discipline. It is most commonly found in athletic sports, such as track and field, other forms of running, swimming and weightlifting ...

of 27:12.

Statistics

Best performances

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dida, Gemechu Living people 1999 births 21st-century Ethiopian sportsmen Ethiopian male long-distance runners Athletes (track and field) at the 2023 African Games African Games silver medalists for Ethiopia African Games silver medalists in athletics (track and field) African Games athletes for Ethiopia Medalists at the 2023 African Games