Buze Diriba could be the next Ethiopian runner to achieve world-class status, judging by her performance in the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon. On Sunday the 31-year-old achieved the greatest victory of her road running career. Diriba not only won the race but improved her personal best to 2:19:34, making her the fifth fastest woman in Frankfurt’s history.
Buze Diriba won, leading from start to finish, but, like every other contender, had to fight against head winds from time to time. With around 10 kilometres remaining, her pacemaker dropped out injured. “If that hadn’t happened and the wind hadn’t been so strong, I would have run 2:16 today,” said Diriba. Her prize for such a persistent performance was 30,000 Euro. “The next time I run a marathon, I’ll try to run around 2:16.”
Buze Diriba has yet more ambitions for the classic road racing distance. “I want to run in the World Championships and Olympic Games and win titles,” the Ethiopian explained, who showed early promise winning the World Junior title for 5,000m on the track in 2012.
She could hardly be in a better place for such great ambitions. Her coach is Gedemu Dedefo, whose training group, based in Addis Ababa, is surely the strongest anywhere in the world at present. It includes the Olympic and World Championship silver medallist Tigst Assefa as well as the current leading woman on marathon times this year and reigning Chicago champion Hawi Feysa. On the men’s side, the group has the Olympic champion Tamirat Tola. A year ago Hawi Feysa used the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon as a springboard into world class. Winning in Frankfurt in a course record of 2:17:25 was a signpost for possibly greater things to come. Her training partner’s course record was Buze Diriba’s target on Sunday. “It helps me to have such strong training partners. It makes me stronger. I know I shall have to run under 2:15 in future to reach world class,” explained Diriba.
She comes from Asela in the Arsi region, renowned for producing so many wonderful runners including the legendary Haile Gebrselassie. There in the region south of Addis Abeba, her parents have a farm and Diriba herself used to do her share of farm work. As a child, as with so many African athletes, she ran to school. “But it wasn’t that far, only about 20 minutes.” She began running at school at the age of 16. Her inspirations were the country’s Olympic women’s champions for long distances on the track, Meseret Defar and Tirunesh Dibaba. “I followed their races,” explained Diriba, who was 18 when she ran her first international race, became World Junior champion and then moved to Addis Abeba.
“Since then, Gemedu Dedefo has been my coach,” said Diriba, who has two daughters aged three and four. ”My husband Guta Wami looks after them most of the time. He runs the household if I’m training or travelling to competition.” Buze Diriba has a sister and three brothers. “Two of the younger brothers are also runners. They followed my example in doing sport. Boki is at international level, my other brother isn’t there yet.” The 21-year-old Boki Diriba finished tenth in last year’s World Cross Country Championships and improved his marathon time to 2:07:13 for sixth place in Hamburg this April. The name Diriba could become a prominent one in international road running in the future.
Further information is available at: www.frankfurt-marathon.com
Please note: The attached photo, showing Buze Diriba in Frankfurt, can only be used in association with this press release and with the following credit: Victah Sailer
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