Ethiopia
2012

Three Golds, All of Them Women

Ethiopia's London 2012 begins with a first: the country won three Olympic athletics golds, and for the first time in its history all of them were won by women. Tirunesh Dibaba kept her 10,000 m title with 30:20.75 — the first woman ever to retain that crown, after arriving with shin trouble that had nearly kept her home. Two days later, in a marathon that began in heavy rain and ended in another downpour, Tiki Gelana fell at a water station near halfway, got up with a bloodied elbow, and won in 2:23:07 — an Olympic record. She said afterwards that she had loved running in the rain since childhood.

• GoldTirunesh Dibaba — 10,000 m — first woman to retain the title30:20.75 · 3 Aug
• GoldTiki Gelana — Marathon — Olympic record, in the rain2:23:07 · 5 Aug
• GoldMeseret Defar — 5000 m — the pendulum swings back15:04.25 · 10 Aug
• SilverSofia Assefa — Steeplechase — bronze that day; silver since 20169:09.84 · 6 Aug
• SilverAbeba Aregawi — 1500 m — 5th that day; silver since June 20254:11.03 · 10 Aug
• SilverDejen Gebremeskel — 5000 m — 0.32 behind Mo Farah13:41.98 · 11 Aug
• BronzeTariku Bekele — 10,000 m — one place ahead of his brother27:31.43 · 4 Aug
• BronzeTirunesh Dibaba — 5000 m — her second medal of the Games15:05.15 · 10 Aug

Read that list carefully, because it is bigger than it was on the night. Ethiopia left London with seven medals; the books today show eight, in a 3-3-2 shape. Sofia Assefa's steeplechase bronze became silver in 2016 when the CAS disqualified the Russian winner. And Abeba Aregawi's 1500 — fifth on the day — became a medal thirteen years later: all three athletes who beat her to the podium fell to doping, her bronze was handed over at a reallocation ceremony during Paris 2024, and in June 2025 the IOC upgraded it to silver.

The Pendulum and the Brothers

The 5000 was the week's family argument. Meseret Defar had won it in Athens; Tirunesh had taken it from her in Beijing; in London it swung back — Defar 15:04.25, Vivian Cheruiyot between them, Tirunesh third at 15:05.15. Crossing the line, Defar pulled an icon of Mary and the child from inside her singlet: the image of the Games for Ethiopian Orthodox faithful, and the last time the two great rivals shared an Olympic podium.

The men's 10,000 had its own family subplot: Tariku Bekele took bronze in 27:31.43 — one place ahead of his older brother Kenenisa, the two-time defending champion, in the race Mo Farah won. And in the men's 5000, Dejen Gebremeskel came within 0.32 seconds of stopping Farah's double.

The Rest of 2012 — and the Kit

The Olympic summer had bookends. In March, at the World Indoors in Istanbul, a teenage Mohammed Aman won the 800 — Ethiopia's first global title at the distance, the one he would defend in Sopot two years later — and Genzebe Dibaba took the 1500 gold, two years before her February of records. In October, Chicago fell twice in one morning: Tsegaye Kebede won the men's race in a course-record 2:04:38, and Atsede Baysa won the women's by exactly one second.

The years since have been uneven with this cast: Aman's story turned — he is banned until October 2028 — while Tirunesh's family now runs the sport itself, with her husband Sileshi Sihine president of the federation since December 2024. Gelana faded from results after 2014, quietly, without an announcement we can cite. The next chapter of this story — the 2014 of Genzebe's records and Kenenisa's marathon — is in our Ethiopia 2014 season page, and the whole arc is in our history of athletics in Ethiopia.

From this season · in the archiveAdidas Ethiopia Pro Elite 2012 Women Crop TopAdidas Ethiopia women's crop top from the 2012 allocation — the cut worn by the generation whose three London golds all belonged to women.60,00 €View piece →