Meseret Defar

Meseret Defar

Defar in 2016
Personal information
Nationality	Ethiopian
Born	(1983-11-19) 19 November 1983 (age 41) Addis Ababa, Ethiopia[1]
Height	155 cm (5 ft 1 in)[2]
Weight	42 kg (93 lb)[3]
Sport
Country	Ethiopia
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	3000 metres, 5000 metres
Medal record Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 2 1 0 World Championships 2 1 2 World Indoor Championships 4 1 1 African Championships 1 3 0 World Junior Championships 2 1 0 World Youth Championships 0 1 0 Total 11 8 3 Olympic Games 2004 Athens 5000 m 2012 London 5000 m 2008 Beijing 5000 m World Championships 2007 Osaka 5000 m 2013 Moscow 5000 m 2005 Helsinki 5000 m 2009 Berlin 5000 m 2011 Daegu 5000 m World Indoor Championships 2004 Budapest 3000 m 2006 Moskva 3000 m 2008 Valencia 3000 m 2010 Doha 3000 m 2012 Istanbul 3000 m 2016 Portland 3000 m 2003 Birmingham 3000 m All-Africa Games 2003 Abuja 5000 m 2007 Algiers 5000 m African Championships 2006 Bambous 5000 m 2000 Algiers 5000 m 2008 Addis Ababa 5000 m 2010 Nairobi 5000 m World Junior Championships 2002 Kingston 3000 m 2002 Kingston 5000 m 2000 Santiago 5000 m World Youth Championships 1999 Bydgoszcz 3000 m

Meseret Defar Tola (Amharic: መሠረት ደፋር; born 19 November 1983) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who competes chiefly in the 3,000 metres and 5,000 metres events. She has won medals at top-tier international competitions including Olympic and World Championship gold medals over 5,000 metres. She broke the world record in the event in 2006, broke it again in 2007 and held it until 2008, when fellow Ethiopian Tirunesh Dibaba beat her time.

In 2007 on a track in Brussels Belgium, she became the only woman with a 2-mile run in less than 9 minutes (8:58.58). This was an improvement on the world record by 11 seconds.^[4]

Defar has been successful in the 5,000 m at the Olympic Games, taking gold at the 2012 London Olympics and 2004 Athens Olympics and bronze at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She has experienced similar success in the World Championships, taking silver in the 2005 Helsinki Championships and gold at the 2007 Osaka Championships.

Defar held the indoor records for the 5000 metres, 3,000 metres and two-mile run. She has dominated the 3,000 m indoor event, winning four consecutive gold medals at the IAAF World Indoor Championships from 2004 to 2010. She is also a two-time champion at the All-Africa Games, a four-time medalist at the African Championships and a two-time gold medalist at the World Junior Championships.

Defar took a break from competition in 2014 in order to start a family. She vowed to return by 2015 although she did not compete in the August World Championships in Beijing.^[5]