Letesenbet Gidey of Ethiopia shattered the women’s world record for the half marathon at the Valencia Half Marathon Trinidad Alfonso, with a time of 1:02:52 (4:48 mile-pace). That Sunday morning, two minutes were shedded off the previous world record of 1:04:02, set by Ruth Chepngetich in Istanbul in April. Although ratification of the new record is pending, Gidey has received lots of public attention over her outstanding performance in Spain. Letesenbet Gidey is no stranger to breaking barriers in the sport, and at only 23 years old, this is her third world record for distance running. In October 2020, she broke the 12-year-old, women’s world record in the 5K, with a time of 14:06.62, five seconds faster than the previous time set by Tirunesh Dibaba in 2008. The 5K world record was set by Gidey in Valencia as well. So she is no stranger to the port city, known for its arts and sciences, either. In a picture from Runner’s World, Gidey smiles, holding up a poster that reads “First woman under 63 in history.” 

Gidey was confident in her race performance based on the training she had been doing. She said ““I knew I could run this kind of time, as my training sessions in the altitude of Addis Ababa [in Ethiopia] have gone very well,” Gidey told World Athletics, which reported she is the first debutante to set a world record for 13.1. “In future, I’m thinking of competing at the marathon distance, but I’m not sure that will come before the Paris 2024 Olympic Games or later.”” Gidey didn’t always show this kind of enthusiasm for running. In fact, when she was a preteen, she got expelled from school for refusing to run in gym class. ““I really did not like racing,” said the 17-year-old. “I brought my parents to school to talk to the headmaster with the hope of getting reinstated. He agreed to reinstate me only if I ran for the school. I reluctantly agreed, just for the chance to get back to school,”” quotes worldathletics.org, in an article documenting the young woman’s rise to fame.

After agreeing to compete on the distance team to be reinstated in schol, Gidey began showing massive talent. Gidey grew up on a farm with her sister and two brothers. Her parents were able to provide her with a basic education from a local school in Endameskel, Tigray, Ethiopia. In 2012, Letesenbet Gidey won the 3000 m + 2000 m steeplechase run after being reinstated in the school to continue her education. From there on out, Letesenbet Gidey would showcase her talent and become the world’s fastest female distance runner in the world.