Diribe Welteji

Ethiopian middle-distance runner

Diribe Welteji

Diribe Welteji in 2023

Personal information

Birth name

Diribe Welteji Kejelcha

Nationality

Ethiopian

Born

(2002-05-13) 13 May 2002 (age 21)

Sport

Track and Field

Event(s)

800 metres
1500 metres

Achievements and titles

Personal best(s)

800m: 1:57.02 (Eugene, 2022) 1500m: 3:53.93 (Eugene, 2023)

Medal record

Women's athletics

Representing Ethiopia
World Championships
	2023 Budapest	1500 m
World Road Running Championships
	2023 Riga	1 mile
World U20 Championships
	2018 Tampere	800 m
	2021 Nairobi	1500 m
African U20 Championships
	2019 Abidjan	1500 m

Diribe Welteji Kejelcha (born 13 May 2002)^[1] is an Ethiopian middle-distance runner. She won the silver medal in the 1500 metres at the 2023 World Championships and placed fourth in the 800 metres at the 2022 World Championships.

At age 16, Welteji won the 800 m at the 2018 World U20 Championships, breaking the championship record in the process. She took silver for the 1500 metres at the 2021 World U20 Championships.

Career

A 16-year-old Diribe Welteji won the gold medal for the 800 m event at the 2018 World Under-20 Championships in Tampere, where she also competed in the women's 4 × 400 m relay without reaching the final, but achieving an Ethiopian junior record.^[1]

In 2019, she won a gold in the 1500 metres at the African U20 Championships, finished sixth in the 800 m event at the African Games in Rabat, and was eliminated in the semi-finals of the 800 m event at the Doha World Championships.^[1]

The 19-year-old competed without success in the women's 1500 m at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics in August 2021, but the same month took silver in this event at the World U20 Championships held in Nairobi.^[2]^[1]

Welteji placed fourth in the 800 m at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon in July with a time of 1:57.02.^[3] In August, she won her first Diamond League meeting with a 1500 m victory, beating her esteemed compatriot Gudaf Tsegay at the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial in Chorzów, Poland. Welteji improved her personal best by more than two seconds and set a meet record with 3:56.91.^[4]

On October 1, 2023, Welteji broke the 1 mile women's road record by running 4:20.98 in Riga at the World Athletics Road Running Championships.^[5]

Representing Ethiopia
Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Time
2018	World U20 Championships	Tampere, Finland	1st	800 m	1:59.74 WU20L CR
2018	World U20 Championships	Tampere, Finland	13th (h)	4x400 m relay	3:39.29 NU20R
2019	African U20 Championships	Abidjan, Ivory Coast	1st	1500 m	4:11.59
	African Games	Rabat, Morocco	6th	800 m	2:04.20
	World Championships	Doha, Qatar	18th (sf)	800 m	2:02.69
2021	Olympic Games	Tokyo, Japan	35th (h)	1500 m	4:10.25
2021	World U20 Championships	Nairobi, Kenya	2nd	1500 m	4:16.39
2022	World Championships	Eugene, OR, United States	4th	800 m	1:57.02 PB
2023	World Championships	Budapest, Hungary	2nd	1500 m	3:55.69
2023	World Athletics Road Running Championships	Riga, Latvia	1st	Road mile	4:20.98 WR
2024	World Indoor Championships	Glasgow, United Kingdom	5th	1500 m	4:03.82

800 metres – 1:57.02 (Eugene, OR July 2022)
1500 metres – 3:53.93 (Eugene, OR September 2023)
- 3000 metres indoor – 8:33.44 (Val-de-Reuil February 2023)

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Diribe WELTEJI – Athlete profile". World Athletics. Retrieved 2021-01-01.
^ "Athletics WELTEJI Diribe". Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 2021-08-04. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
^ Kelsall, Christopher (2022-07-29). "Did Athing Mu impede Keely Hodgkinson during the 800m final at World Athletics Championships?". Athletics Illustrated. Retrieved 2022-10-04.
^ Chris Broadbent (6 August 2022). "Fraser-Pryce flies to world-leading 10.66 in Silesia". World Athletics. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
^ "Diribe Welteji Sets A New World Record In The Women's Road Mile In A Stunning Upset In Riga". 2023-10-01. Retrieved 2023-10-01.