Girmawit Gebrzihair Gebru (born 21 November 2001), also spelled Girmawit Gebregziabher, is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. In 2022, she ran the fourth-fastest half-marathon of all time with a 64:14 performance.
In 2018, Girmawit won the bronze medal at the 2018 World U20 Championships in Athletics in the women's 5000 m. Her age was the subject of controversy after athletes and journalists claimed photos of her from the event depicted someone older than her official age of 16, though no official proof of age cheating was provided.
Career
Girmawit first caught attention in 2017 at the age of 15, when she finished second at the Great Ethiopian Run with a time of 32:33 over the 10K run distance. According to the Association of Road Racing Statisticians records, this mark was a single-age best for 14 year olds by 43 seconds, beating Ji-ang Qinghua of China's time from 1999.[2]
In 2018, she won the Ethiopian Athletics U20 Championships in the 5000 m with a time of 15:48.81 and the next day finished third in the 3000 m. In July, at the age of 16, she participated in the World U20 Championships in Athletics and finished third behind Beatrice Chebet and Ejgayehu Taye with a time of 15:34.01 minutes.
In 2019, Girmawit finished fifth in the U20 race at the World Cross Country Championships, helping her team win the gold medal. In July, she placed eighth in the 10,000 m at the Ethiopian qualifiers for the World Championships in Athletics, setting a personal best but not making the team.
In 2020 and 2021, Girmawit was not listed in any competition results.[1]
In January 2022, Girmawit competed in the Great Ethiopian Run, finishing second with a time of 31:29, behind Yalemzerf Yehualaw. On February 19, she set a new course record at the RAK Half Marathon with a time of 1:04:14.[3] The time was the fourth fastest ever run by a woman in the half marathon.[4] In May, Girmawit finished fifth in the 3000 m at the 2022 Doha Diamond League with a time of 8:41.88.
In July 2018, photos of Girmawit from the 2018 World U20 Championships in Athletics went viral for her apparent age. Sprinter Óscar Husillos tweeted in Spanish, "Her children and grandchildren are in the stands to see her run in the World U20 Championships".[5] Other journalists also ridiculed the photos, claiming that Girmawit could not possibly be 16 years old.[6]
Despite the controversy, there has been no proven evidence that Girmawit is over-aged.[7] Husillos later deleted his tweet, claiming that it was taken out of context and his words were misinterpreted.[8]
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