Did you know that the Dibaba sisters from Ethiopia are the only siblings in recorded history to hold concurrent World Records (WR) and have four Olympic gold medals, two silver medals, three bronze medals, and 15 world championships titles?

In the history of World Sports, no siblings or family have ever come close to what the Dibaba Sister-athletes have done. The closest were the famous Tennis Star-Sisters – Serena and Venus Williams, yet they weren’t close enough. The Dibaba Sisters of five, namely: Tirunesh, Genzebe, Ejegayehu, Anna, and Melat, have also carved themselves into an athletic brand that will be difficult to beat in the world of sports.

The Dibaba sisters, from the humble mud hut on the outskirts of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, were born and raised by parents who were farmers growing wheat, teff, barley, and rearing dairy cows. According to Vogue, their mother, Gutu, attributes the women’s success to a loving environment as well as a steady supply of milk from the family cows and a healthy diet of wheat, barley, and teff from their farms. 

The are a family of seven siblings, and every one of them is a runner. Their younger brother, Dejene, has been tipped for similar greatness in the future by sports experts. Life in the countryside shaped the Dibaba sisters into an athletic powerhouse. It was by default that they all ended up in the tracks and rose to global fame as the world’s fastest family.

The sisters got introduced into athletics by a Cousin named Tulu, who runs for Ethiopia and went on to become the first Female African to win a gold medal in the Olympics in 1992.

The most decorated of the sisters is Tirunesh. She competed in long-distance and marathon events and won three Olympic gold medals, five World Championships gold medals, four individual World Cross Country (WCC) senior titles, and one individual WCC junior title.

Tirunesh made history at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, where she became the first woman to win gold in the 5000m and 10,000m races. She then went on to win gold at the 2012 Olympics in London, where she became the first woman to win the event at two consecutive Olympics. The long-distance veteran was the 5000m outdoor WR holder until 2020 when Letesenbet Gidey broke the record. During her active years, she was nicknamed the "Baby-Faced Destroyer."

Another of the Dibaba, Genzebe, holds the distinction of possessing the most WRs by one woman in track history, currently having a haul of four, plus two world bests. Genzebe is a Rio 2016 Olympics silver medalist in the 1500m, 2015 World 5000m Champion, and the current WR holder in the outdoor 1500m, indoor 5000m, 3000m, and one mile, and world best in the 2000m and two miles. She is a five-time world indoor champion in the 1500m and 3000m from 2012-2018, a 2015 Diamond League champion, and numerous medals at the junior level.

Ejegayehu Dibaba, is also a long-distance runner who won the 10,000m silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. She claimed 5000m and 10,000m bronze medals at the 2005 World Championships, and was the 2003 Afro-Asian Games and All-Africa Games champion in the 10,000m.

The other two sisters are Anna and Melat, but they're not actively into track and field.

Sources: The Duchess Magazine | The Independent | Pulse Sports

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