Straight Outta Ethiopia | Who Are The Millionaire Dibaba Sisters Taking The Running World By Storm?
In the world of track, the names that have been part of cultural discourse are Sha'Carri Richardson and Noah Lyles. Add another five names to that list, which will not be hard to remember, since they have the same last name: Dibaba.
With the Paris Olympics on the horizon, let’s look at some of the potential athletes coming straight out of Ethiopia.
The Dibaba sisters are running royalty and some of the most decorated athletes to ever grace a track field. There are seven Dibaba siblings, all of whom run, with the five sisters standing out in the international track ranks.
Tirunesh Dibaba, Genzebe Dibaba, Ejagayehu Dibaba, Mare Dibaba and Anna Dibaba are very accomplished as the only siblings in recorded history to hold concurrent world records.
"There are a few running families, but not like the Dibabas," Ethiopian track legend Haile Gebrselassie said to Vogue in 2016.
Tirunesh Dibaba is the all-star of the Dibaba sisters as a three-time Olympic gold medalist. She also won two bronze medals in 2004 and 2012. She competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympics at the 5,000 meter and 10,000 meters. At 18, Tirunesh became the youngest middle-distance runner to become a world champion in the 5000 meters and 10,000 meters.
Tirunesh is also a five-time world champion, winning a New York Marathon in 2017 and the world cross country five times. She has a reported net worth of between $1 million and $5 million from her athletic career.
Genzebe Dibaba is a long-distance and middle-distance runner who participated in the 2012 London Summer Olympics and won the 1500 meters at the 2012 World Indoor Championships. She won the gold medal in the 1500 meters at the Beijing World Championships and a silver medal in the 1500 meters at the 2016 Olympics. From her accomplishments, Genzebe's net worth is $5 Million.
Ejagayehy Dibaba is the oldest sister in the family at 41 years old. She won two bronze medals in the 2005 World Championships in Athletics and is an Olympic silver medalist in 10,000 meters clinched at the 2004 Summer Games in Athens. She has a net worth of $5 million.
The last two sisters, Mare and Anna, are the youngest and in the shadow of their older sisters' world records.
Mare Dibaba has competed consistently at the highest level for over a decade. In 2008, she began racing internationally and posted several top-five finishes in the half marathon distance. In 2011, she got her first taste of gold after winning the All-Africa Games half marathon in a time of 1:10:47.
After qualifying for the London Olympics in 2012, Dibaba didn't win an Olympic medal. However, the opportunity came again in 2015, and she finished first at the World Championships. In 2016, she won the bronze at the Rio Olympic Games. She has a reported net worth of $5 million.
Anna Dibaba's last racing result is 4th place in the women's half marathon in the Pittsburgh Half Marathon 2022. She competes in 1500 meters, 5000 meters, half marathon and mile and hopes to add to her family's incredible achievements.
The Dibaba sisters are showing what a family legacy in athletics looks like and they are coming straight out of Ethiopia.