Dawit Wolde

Dawit Wolde (born 19 May 1991) is an Ethiopian middle-distance runner who specialises in the 1500 metres. A medallist at the World Youth Championships and the African Junior Athletics Championships, he has represented Ethiopia at the African Championships in Athletics and the All-Africa Games. He was chosen to compete at the 2012 Summer Olympics and 2016 Olympics. His 1500 m personal best is 3:33.82 minutes. As of July 2025, he is ranked at 38 in the Men's Marathon & 339th in the Men's Overall Ranking. His personal best world ranking positions have been 6th place in the Men's Marathon, 19th place n Men's 5000m, 111th place in Men's 10,000m & 107th place in Men's Overall Ranking[1].
Career
Born in Debre Zeyit in Ethiopia's Oromia Region,[2] he came to international prominence as a teenager with a bronze medal at the 2007 World Youth Championships in Athletics and a silver at the 2007 African Junior Athletics Championships.[3][4] He set a personal best of 3:41.25 minutes for the 1500 m that year at the Meeting Iberoamericano. He ran at the 2008 World Junior Championships in Athletics but was eliminated in the first round.[5]
Dawit knocked nearly five seconds off his best in 2009. He won the Josef Odlozil Memorial 1500 m,[6] took bronze at the 2009 African Junior Athletics Championships,[7] and closed the season with a best of 3:36.74 minutes at the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix.[5] A third-place finish in the 800 metres at the 2010 Ethiopian Athletics Championships led to an appearance in that event at the 2010 African Championships in Athletics,[8] where he was a semi-finalist. He had top three finishes on the 2011 European track and field circuit, highlighted by a run of 3:34.13 minutes in Oordegem.[5] He was a 1500 m finalist at the 2011 All-Africa Games, but did not finish in the final.[9]
He had a successful debut over the half marathon distance at the 2012 Egmond Half Marathon, breaking a thirteen-year-old course record with a time of 60:46 minutes.[10] He was less successful at the Prague Half Marathon, coming eighth, but his 1500 m performances improved: he ran 3:33.82 minutes at the FBK Games and set a mile run best of 3:57.48 minutes at the Prefontaine Classic.[5] As the second fastest Ethiopian that season, he was chosen for the Ethiopian team for the 2012 London Olympics.[11]
In 2015 he competed at the World Championship in the 1500 m.[12]
In 2016, he reached the final of the 1500 m at the World Indoor Championship, finishing in 5th place.[12] That year, he also reached the semifinals of the 1500m at the 2016 Olympics.[12]
In 2025, he set a course record to win the C&D Xiamen Marathon, recognised as a World Athletics Platinum Label road race, securing the title with a time of 2:06:06.[13]He also won the 2025 Gifu Seiryu Half Marathon, a World Athletics Gold Label event, clocking a time of 1:00:06[14].
Personal bests
- 800 metres: 1:48.92 min (2015)
- 1500 metres: 3:33.82 min (2012)
- Mile run: 3:54.02 min (2016)
- 3000 metres: 7:42.65 min (2011)
- Half marathon: 59.58 min (2020)
- Marathon: 2:03.48 min (2023)
References
- ^ "Dawit WOLDE | Profile | World Athletics". worldathletics.org. Archived from the original on 2025-05-16. Retrieved 2025-08-04.
- ^ Dawit Wolde Archived 2012-07-28 at the Wayback Machine. London2012. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
- ^ "Boys 1500m Final". IAAF. 15 July 2007. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
- ^ African Junior Championships 2007 Archived 2014-04-07 at the Wayback Machine. World Junior Athletics History. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
- ^ a b c d "Wolde Dawit". IAAF. Archived from the original on 6 August 2012. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
- ^ Juck, Alfons (9 June 2009). "Spotakova improves to 68.23m". IAAF. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
- ^ "African Junior Championships 2009". World Junior Athletics History. Archived from the original on 23 October 2011. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
- ^ Negash, Elshadai (3 May 2010). "Abdosh, G. Dibaba, and Utura produce the highlights at the Ethiopian Championships". IAAF. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
- ^ "2011 All Africa Games results". AfricaAthle. Archived from the original on 7 July 2012. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
- ^ van Hemert, Wim (9 January 2012). "In debut, Wolde sets course record at Egmond Half Marathon". IAAF. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
- ^ "Ethiopia to send squad of 33 to London". IAAF. 10 July 2012. Archived from the original on 13 July 2012. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
- ^ a b c "Dawit WOLDE | Profile". www.worldathletics.org. Retrieved 2021-01-30.
- ^ "Ethiopian Runners Dawit Wolde and Ruti Aga Set New Records at 2025 Xiamen Marathon | Watch Athletics". www.watchathletics.com. Retrieved 2025-08-04.
- ^ "Gifu Half Marathon: Dawit Wolde of Ethiopia Claims First Title | Watch Athletics". www.watchathletics.com. Retrieved 2025-08-04.