#1 | Female Athlete of 2015

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Genzebe Dibaba breaks records. ItÂ’s just what she does.

On February 19 the 24-year-old Ethiopian star broke the World Record in the Indoor 5K in Stockholm, running 14:18. We knew the outdoor season would be special. 



She kicked things off with a few 5K World Record attempts, including an attempt at the road record in the Carlsbad 5K. Her time of 14:48 at the 'World's Fastest 5K' is the fourth-fastest all time. On the track she ran 14:19 at the Prefontaine Classic, 14:21 in in Oslo and 14:15 in Paris, the third attempt being the fourth-fastest time ever recorded. With these victories under her belt, all signs pointed toward a Dibaba gold medal at the upcoming World Championships, but then things got interested.

She ran 3:54.11 in the 1500m Barcelona on July 8, the fastest time in the event in nearly 12 years, only four days after running her 14:15 5K. After that, the 1500m World Record chase was on. With the pacing duties assigned to World Indoor 800m Champion Chanelle Price, Dibaba smashed the World Record in 3:50.07.



After obliterating the competition in Monaco, was there ever any doubt that Dibaba wouldn't win a World Championship? The question was now could she win two? Sure she had never won a medal outdoors before 2015 but was a two-time World Indoor Champion (2012, 2014) over two distances. Plus the Monaco race was sort of out of this world, and even huge talents like Faith Kipyegon and Sifan Hassan didn't look AS good as Dibaba through the preliminary rounds in Beijing. She finally won her first outdoor gold medal in 4:08.09.



Though she didn't have the gas to sustain 5K rival Almaz Ayana or silver medalist Senbere Teferi, Dibaba walked away with a 5K bronze medal after her fifth race at the World Championships. She then ended her season with a runner-up finish to Ayana in the 3K in Zurich in 8:26.54. Yes, 2015 was indeed Dibaba's year.