Tirunesh Diababa,  Eth

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Personal Bests: 

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2002

2nd behind Kenya's Viola Kibiwot in the Junior Women's race at the World Cross-country. 

2nd behind Deena Drossin's world road best in the Carlsbad (California) 5km.

 2nd behind her team-mate Meseret Difar in the 5000m at the World Junior Championships.

2nd behind Worknesh Kidane (whom she had beaten at Carlsbad) in the Great Ethiopian Run. 

2003

Tirunesh was the surprise winner of the Women's 5000m at the World Championships in Paris.

Tirunesh has a good chance of taking the Cross-country title this year, as Viola Kibiwot, the two-time World Junior Cross Champion, has moved up to the senior ranks. That would appear to give Tirunesh, who finished barely a second behind in Dublin, a clear shot at the gold in the Junior Women's race in Lausanne.

But this logical progression was given a jolt in the Ethiopian trials, when Tirunesh was edged in the junior race by the little-known Meselech Melkamu. The next day, however, Tirunesh followed that surprising loss with an even bigger upset of her own, streaking past the strongly favored Worknesh Kidane to take the senior women's 4km.

In Lausanne Tirunesh is listed for both the Junior race and the 4km. Knowing her chances are much better in the former, it's unlikely she'll let the gold escape her this time.

2004

Tirunesh Diababa (711) took the silver medal behind Kenya's Edith Masai (746) in the Senior Women's Short Course 4km race on Sunday, in a time of 13:09. Ethiopia took the Team Gold medal with 19 points.

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