Tsehay Gemechu (born 12 December 1998) 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 ...

. She finished fourth in the

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a sta ...

at the

2019 World Athletics Championships The 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships () was the seventeenth edition of the biennial, global sport of athletics, athletics competition organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), since renamed World Athleti ...

. Gemechu won the

10,000 metres 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 ...

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 ...

. Gemechu is currently serving a four-year ban set to end in November 2027 for an anti-doping rule violation relating to abnormalities in her Athlete Biological Passport.

Career

Tsehay Gemechu twice won the

Delhi Half Marathon Delhi Half Marathon, currently branded as the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon for sponsorship reasons, is an annual half marathon foot-race held in New Delhi, India. Established in 2005, it is both an elite runner and mass participation event. It is ...

(2018, 2019), setting new consecutive course records. She placed second at the

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 ...

, a 10 km road race in

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...

, in 2018. In 2019, she won the 10K Valencia Ibercaja, setting a new national record of 30:15 and slicing 15 seconds off

Tirunesh Dibaba Tirunesh Dibaba (, Amharic: ጥሩነሽ ዲባባ ቀነኒ; born 1 October 1985) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner athlete who competes in long-distance track events and international road races. She has won three Olympic track gold meda ...

's previous best. She competed in the senior women's race at the

World Cross Country Championships World Athletics Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Formerly held annually and organised by World Athletics (formerly the IAAF), it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the In ...

held in

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus municipality, Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and app ...

, Denmark in March of that year, finishing in sixth place and helping Ethiopia take team title. In August, Gemechu took victory in the

at the

African Games The African Games, formally known as the All-Africa Games or the Pan African Games, are a continental multi-sport event held every four years, organized by the African Union with the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa and the ...

Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ) is the Capital (political), capital city of Morocco and the List of cities in Morocco, country's seventh-largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million. ...

, Morocco, and in October, placed fourth in the

event at the Doha World Championships in Qatar. Gemechu received a four-year ban in October 2024, backdated to the provisional suspension issued in November 2023, for an anti-doping rule violation indicated by abnormalities in her Athlete Biological Passport. All her results from March 2020 onwards were disqualified. From 2020 to 2023 Gemechu had competed in various events, including the 2020 Tokyo Olympics 10,000 metres, the

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

and Lisbon Half Marathons, the Istanbul Half Marathon, the Antrim Coast Half Marathon, and both the

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

and

Tokyo Marathon The is an annual marathon sporting event in Tokyo, Japan. It is a World Athletics Platinum Label marathon and one of the seven World Marathon Majors. The latest edition of the race took place on . It is sponsored by Tokyo Metro. History The fi ...

s. However, all her results from March 2020 onwards, including these performances, were subsequently disqualified due to the anti-doping rule violation.

Personal bests

– 14:29.60 (

Doha Doha ( ) is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It ...

2019) *

– 30:53.11 (

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 ...

2019) * 10 kilometres – 30:15 (

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

2019) *

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 ...

– 1:06:00 (

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

2019)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gemechu, Tsehay 1998 births Living people Ethiopian female cross country runners Ethiopian female long-distance runners World Athletics Championships athletes for Ethiopia Athletes (track and field) at the 2019 African Games African Games gold medalists for Ethiopia African Games gold medalists in athletics (track and field) African Games athletes for Ethiopia Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Ethiopia 21st-century Ethiopian sportswomen Doping cases in athletics Ethiopian sportspeople in doping cases