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Nijmegen Nimwegen
—  Municipality  —
A view over Nijmegen
Flag Coat of arms
Coordinates: 51°49′30″N 5°51′20″E / 51.825°N 5.85556°E / 51.825; 5.85556Coordinates: 51°49′30″N 5°51′20″E / 51.825°N 5.85556°E / 51.825; 5.85556
Country	Netherlands
Province	Gelderland
Ulpia Noviomagus Batavorum	98–102
Founder	Trajanus
Government
• Mayor	Th.C. de Graaf (D66)
• Aldermen	P.F.G. Depla J.A.C. van Hooft sr. H.T.M. Scholten J.G. Kunst J. van der Meer
• Secretary	P. Eringa
Area(2006)
• Municipality	57.53 km2 (22.21 sq mi)
• Land	53.59 km2 (20.69 sq mi)
• Water	3.94 km2 (1.52 sq mi)  6.8%
Elevation	7–88 m (24–288 ft)
Population (1 January 2012)
• Municipality	165,253
• Density	3,083/km2 (7,987/sq mi)
• Urban	280,079
• Metro	736,107
	Source: Gemeente Nijmegen, [1]
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal codes	6500–6547, 6663, 6679, 6683
Area code(s)	024 / 0481
Website	www.nijmegen.nl

Nijmegen (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈnɛi̯.ˌmeɪ̯.ɣə(n)] ( listen))^[1] is a municipality and a city in the east of the Netherlands, near the German border. It is considered to be the oldest city in The Netherlands and celebrated its 2000th year of existence in 2005. The municipality is part of the "Stadsregio Arnhem-Nijmegen", a metropolitan area with 736,107 inhabitants (January 2011).

The city of Nijmegen[link]

View of Burchtstraat in Nijmegen as seen from Stevenskerk.

Nijmegen Benedenstad

History[link]

The first mention of Nijmegen in history is in the 1st century BC, when the Romans built a military camp on the place where Nijmegen was to appear; the location had great strategic value because of the surrounding hills, which gave (and continues to give) a good view over the Waal and Rhine valley.

By 69, when the Batavians, the original inhabitants of the Rhine and Maas delta, revolted, a village called Oppidum Batavorum had formed near the Roman camp. This village was destroyed in the revolt, but when the revolt had ended the Romans built another, bigger camp where the Legio X Gemina was stationed. Soon after, another village formed around this camp.

In 98 Nijmegen was the first of two settlements in what is now the Kingdom of the Netherlands to receive Roman city rights.^[2]

In 103 the X Gemina was restationed to Vienna, which may have been a major blow to the economy of the village around the camp. In 104 Emperor Trajan renamed the town, which now became known as Ulpia Noviomagus Batavorum, Noviomagus for short (the origin of the current name Nijmegen).

In the 4th century, Roman power decreased and Nijmegen became part of the Frankish kingdom. It has been contended that in the 8th century Emperor Charlemagne maintained his palatium in Nijmegen on at least four occasions. During his brief deposition of 830, the emperor Louis the Pious was sent to Nijmegen by his son Lothar I. Thanks to the Waal river, trade flourished.

The powerful Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor was born at Nijmegen in 1165. In 1230 his son Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor granted Nijmegen city rights. In 1247, the city was ceded to the count of Guelders as collateral for a loan. The loan was never repaid, and Nijmegen has been a part of Gelderland ever since. This did not hamper trade; Nijmegen even became part of the Hanseatic League in 1364.

The arts also flourished in this period. Famous medieval painters like the Limbourg brothers were born and educated in Nijmegen.

During the Dutch Revolt, trade came to a halt and even though Nijmegen became a part of the Republic of United Provinces in 1585, it remained a border town and had to endure multiple sieges.

The Waal near Nijmegen, 1641.

In 1678 Nijmegen was host to the negotiations between the European powers that aimed to put an end to the constant warfare that had ravaged the continent for years. The result was the Treaty of Nijmegen that, unfortunately, failed to provide for a lasting peace.

In the second half of the 19th century, the fortifications around the city became a major problem. There were too many inhabitants inside the walls, but the fortifications could not be demolished because Nijmegen was deemed as being of vital importance to the defence of the Netherlands. When events in the Franco-Prussian war proved that old-fashioned fortifications were no more of use, this policy was changed and the fortifications were dismantled in 1874. The old castle had already been demolished in 1797, so that its bricks could be sold.

Through the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, Nijmegen grew steadily. The Waal was bridged in 1878 by a rail bridge and in 1936 by a car bridge, which was claimed to be Europe's biggest bridge at the time. In 1923 the current Radboud University Nijmegen was founded and in 1927 a channel was dug between the Waal and Maas rivers.

In 1940, The Netherlands was invaded by Germany with Nijmegen being the first Dutch city to fall into German hands. On February 22, 1944, Nijmegen was heavily bombed by American planes, causing great damage to the city centre. The American pilots thought they were bombing the German city of Kleve. Alleged by the Germans to have been a deliberate act, the NIOD announced in January 2005 that its study of the incident confirmed that it was an accident caused by poor communications and chaos in the airspace. Over 750 people died in the bombardment.

During September 1944, the city saw heavy fighting during Operation Market Garden. The objective in Nijmegen was mainly to prevent the Germans from destroying the bridges. Capturing the road bridge allowed the British Army XXX Corps to attempt to reach the 1st British Airborne Division in Arnhem. The bridge was heavily defended by over 300 German troops on both the north and south sides with close to 20 anti-tank guns and two anti-aircraft guns, supported with artillery.

The Germans' late attempt to blow the road bridge was probably foiled by a local Dutch resistance hero, Jan van Hoof, who is said to have cut the wires to the bridge.

The Germans made repeated attacks on the bridge using bombs attached to driftwood, midget submarines and later resorted to shelling the bridge with 88mm barrages. Troops were positioned on the bridge giving an excellent arc of fire in case of attack. Troops that couldn't fit onto the bridge were positioned in a bombed out house slightly upstream of the bridge. During the shelling, the house was hit, killing six soldiers and wounding one more.

Nijmegen was liberated from German captivity by the British Grenadier Guards of the Guards Armoured Division, as well as elements of the American 82nd Airborne Division in September 1944. This city would later be used as a springboard for Operation Veritable, the invasion across the Rhine River by Allied Troops.

More recently, on February 23, 1981, the Nijmegen Police Department and the Dutch Army stormed the Piersonstraat and Zeigelhof, a squatted housing block in the city centre of Nijmegen. Using two hundred riot vans, three Leopard MBTs, three armoured personnel carriers, a helicopter, twelve hundred policemen, and seven hundred fifty members of the armed forces, they evicted the squatters and demolished the block, while clouding the entire area in teargas and CS gas. This had an enormous backlash in local politics. While the city government wanted the squatters out to build a parking garage, most of the population wanted affordable housing to be built in the area.

As of this date, Nijmegen is still known as Havana on the Waal among some Right-wingers. The Socialist Party, the Green Party and Labour have a solid two-third majority in City Council, making Nijmegen the only major city in the Netherlands with a solely Left-wing government. The current mayor is Thom de Graaf.

Nijmegen celebrated its 2000th year of existence in 2005. It is considered the oldest city in The Netherlands. In gaining this qualification, it has competed with the city of Maastricht.

In November 2005, the city centre of Nijmegen was the site of the assassination of political activist Louis Sévèke by a former activist (Marcel T.). Marcel T. was arrested in 2007 in Spain and extradited to the Netherlands. Marcel T. was also accused of bank robbery. Marcel T. committed his acts out of revenge for a forcible eviction from the squatter scene by Louis Sévèke.

The Waalbrug, The Snelbinder and the Nijmegen railway bridge

Canon of Nijmegen[link]

Read more about the history of Nijmegen in the Canon of Nijmegen, a concise history of Nijmegen. [2] There are also translations available in French, German and Italian. [3] [4] [5]

View of Nijmegen at night, seen from the Veerdam in Lent

Historical remains[link]

Few Roman remains are visible today; a fragment of the old city wall can be seen near the casino and the foundations of the amphitheatre are traced in the paving of the present-day Rembrandtstraat. The Valkhof museum, on the Valkhof, has a permanent display of the history of Nijmegen, including artifacts from the Roman era. Additionally, they usually have temporary exhibitions of more and less famous artists. Unfortunately not a whole lot of very old buildings are left in town: first the Americans carpet bombed it in February 1944, later the Germans shelled it for about five months after the liberation in September 1944, and finally there were a lot of very rigorous city planners in the 1950s, 60's and 70's who finished what the Americans and Germans started.

There are still a few noteworthy sights, however. Valkhof hill downtown features a Carolingian chapel (eight, ninth century AD) and a small remainder of an imperial castle that was demolished in 1798. From Valkhof hill walk west through the Burchtstraat. Here you will see, on your left hand, the fifteenth century town hall. If you've finished admiring its exterior (there's nothing of note inside) continue walking west to the Grote Markt (Great Market) on the north side is a sixteenth-century weighing hall that now serves as a restaurant. On the west side you will see the entrance to the St. Stevenskerk courtyard. On the left is a fifteenth-century Latin school. On the right stands the thirteenth century St. Stevenskerk, the interior of which was destroyed during the Dutch revolution of the sixteenth century. To the north of the church is a series of small seventeenth-century houses that now serve as trinket shops

Topography[link]

Topographic map image of Nijmegen, 2011

Climate[link]

Nijmegen is one of the warmest cities of the Netherlands, especially during summer, when the highest temperatures in the country are usually measured in the triangle Roermond – Nijmegen – Eindhoven. The lack of north-south oriented mountain ranges in Europe make this area prone to sudden shifts in weather, giving the region a semi-continental climate.

Some of the northernmost wineries in the world are found just outside of Nijmegen, around Groesbeek, a suburban village south-east of Nijmegen.

During the 2006 European heat wave, Kalkar reached a high of 38.6°C (101.5°F) on July 19, and a Weather Underground station in Nijmegen-Dukenburg reached a high of 38.7°C (101.7°F), which, if accepted by the KNMI, would have been a record high for the Netherlands. The KNMI does not consider data from stations operated by others, however. The heat wave coincided with that year's Four Day Marches, which were cancelled after the first day, when two people died of hyperthermia-related causes. Temperatures on that day, the 18th of July, reached around 36°C (97°F).

On the night of January 6, 2009, an all-time record low of −17.5°C was reached at Weeze airport, and many other stations around Nijmegen reached record or near-record low temperatures, as low as −21°C (−5°F) at some places. Raeren in Belgium recorded −25.9°C (−15°F), making this cold spell the coldest in at least 60 years.

Nijmegen is in USDA Hardiness zone 7b and AHS Heat zone 3.

Education[link]

Nijmegen is host to Radboud University Nijmegen. Founded in 1923 as the first Catholic university in the Netherlands. It used to be called (Catholic) University of Nijmegen until 2004, when it took its current name. As of 2006 it had 17,627 students 4,336 staff. Radboud University runs the High Field Magnetic Laboratory which is able to achieve some of the highest fields available in Europe at 33 teslas (continuous) and 60 teslas (pulsed). The facility is available to outside users, primarily for research purposes.

The education and social work departments of the Hogeschool van Arnhem en Nijmegen school for higher level vocational training are also located in Nijmegen, as are that school's medical departments.

In addition to these institutions, there is also an intermediate level vocational school (ROC Nijmegen) and a number of secondary schools: Groenschool Nijmegen, Kandinsky College, Nijmeegse Scholengemeenschap Groenewoud (NSG), Citadel College, Stedelijke Scholengemeenschap Nijmegen (SSGN), Canisius College, St. Jorisschool, Lindenholt College, the Stedelijk Gymnasium (formally the "Latijnse school", founded in the 16th century), the Karel de Grote College, Montessori College and the Dominicus College. Of note is also Leefwerkschool Eigenwijs, which caters to students from all over the Netherlands who have been repeatedly expelled from "regular" high schools. Leefwerkschool Eigenwijs has its roots in the local activist movement of the early 1980s and is the only school of its kind recognised in the Netherlands.

Nijmegen is also an important centre of Psycholinguistics, home to the Max Planck Institute of Psycholinguistics and the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour.

The Nobel Prize for Physics in 2010 awarded to Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov while at Radboud University "for groundbreaking experiments regarding the two-dimensional material graphene."

Transportation[link]

Nijmegen has four train stations: Nijmegen, Nijmegen Dukenburg, Nijmegen Heyendaal and Nijmegen Lent. The central station is connected to the national Intercity network. The bus company Breng (a subsidiary of Connexxion) operates the city buses in the Arnhem-Nijmegen metropolitan area.

Like most Dutch cities, bicycles are an important mode of transport. The city is connected to Arnhem, 18 km (11 mi) to the north, by a "fietssnelweg" (fast cycle highway) which crosses the Snelbinder bridge in the city. During 2010-2012 the cycle highway is receiving upgrades to further encourage the use of bicycles for transport between Nijmegen and Arnhem.^[5]

The river is a busy freight transport route, with barges to the city as well as passing through on the way between the industrial regions of Germany and the docks at Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Hook of Holland. The Maas-Waal Canal also carries freight through the city.

Museums in and around Nijmegen[link]

• Africa Museum (African art and culture)
• Museum Park Orientalis (ancient middle eastern buildings)
• Valkhof museum (Roman and mediaeval history and modern art)
• Velorama (bicycle museum)
• Bevrijdingsmuseum (about World War II and the airlandings at Nijmegen)
• House of the History of Nijmegen information centre about the history of Nijmegen; free entrance; expositions about a theme of the town's history; touch screen which leads you to the 50 highlights of the towns'history: 'Canon of Nijmegen'; reading table. The House of the Nijmegen History is situated in a unique mediaeval chapel 'de Mariënburgkapel'; its mission is to let enjoy people of the history of the town and to be a guide for everybody who wants to visit the oldest city of the Netherlands. There is also a digital House NijmegenWiki)

International Four Day March Nijmegen[link]

Participants at the last day of the 1997 Four Day Marches

Nijmegen is famous for the International Four Day March Nijmegen (Dutch: Internationale Vierdaagse Afstandsmarsen Nijmegen, informally Nijmeegse Vierdaagse), an annual event starting on the third Tuesday in July, comprising four days of walking (distances ranging from 30 to 50 km a day), and the accompanying festivities (the Vierdaagsefeesten including rock festival de-Affaire), which have been drawing the largest crowds for any Dutch event in the past few years.

The event invites WWII allied veterans to help celebrate their participation in the liberation of the Netherlands from German occupation. Participants from Britain, Canada, the USA, Australia and New Zealand have attended the event. Nowadays, the event is international, inviting teams from all countries to attention.

During the Vierdaagse of 2006 two people died due to the extreme hot weather (note that the deceased had other health issues that added up to the death cause). It caused the organisation to cancel the rest of the walk. This resulted in extra safety measures during the 2007 Vierdaagse; for instance, a professional weatherman was added to the organisation staff, more free water refill stations were added along the route and an extensive research program was developed to monitor the effects of hiking long distances on the human body.

Religion[link]

St. Stephen's Church (restored after WWII)

In 1968 prominent liberal theologians in the Roman Catholic Church issued what is now known as the Nijmegen Statement, demanding sweeping reforms in the Vatican's Holy Office, previously known as The Inquisition, and calling for greater scope for theological inquiry. Among its signatories was the then progressive theologian Fr. Joseph Ratzinger, then a member of the faculty at the University of Tübingen but later a much more conservative figure as the head of the successor to the Holy Office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and later still Pope Benedict XVI.

The Nijmegen Statement said: "Any form of Inquisition however subtle, not only harms the development of sound theology, it also causes irreparable damage to the credibility of the church". The signatories, a group of predominantly German-speaking theologians asserted that "the freedom of theologians, and theology in the service of the church, regained by Vatican II, must not be jeopardized again." The signatories pledged their loyalty to the pope, but argued that the teaching office of pope and bishops "cannot and must not supersede, hamper and impede the teaching task of theologians as scholars."

There are several English spoken Religious meetings in Nijmegen. See the external link for a list of Church services in English (link from the official site is obsolete and not being updated for long).

Population centres[link]

The municipality is formed by the city of Nijmegen, incorporating the former villages of Hatert, Hees and Neerbosch, as well as the urban expansion project of Waalsprong, situated north of the river Waal and including the village of Lent and the hamlet of 't Zand, as well as the new suburbs of Nijmegen-Oosterhout and Nijmegen-Ressen.

Politics[link]

The city council has 39 seats. After the 2002 municipal elections, the three major parties, GroenLinks (9 seats), PvdA (8 seats) and SP (6 seats) formed a coalition. Because these are all left-wing parties, Nijmegen received the nickname 'Havana on the Waal'. Although such majorities are no exception (compare Amsterdam) and sometimes also form coalitions (see Muntendam), this is unusual for a city this size. Since such a left-wing coalition might be possible at a national level after the 2006 general election, the achievements of this council are often scrutinised. After the 2006 municipal election such a coalition became possible in many more municipalities, making the example even more interesting.

The municipal elections of 7 March 2006 saw an increase of 4,6% of the votes for these three parties taken together, which could be seen as increased support for the coalition. However, nationally these parties scored much better, recovering from an electoral blow of the 2002 elections. Then again, the Leefbaar parties that caused the loss then and lost most of their votes this time have no branch in Nijmegen, which makes this comparison less valid. Among the three big parties, there was a shift from GroenLinks, who lost 6.5%, to PvdA, who won 6.4% and SP, who won 2.3%. As a result it is no longer the biggest party. The seat assignment is now as shown in the table. The three-party coalition was returned to office.

After the 2010 Dutch municipal election, the PvdA lost three of its eleven seats. Short before the elections, there were problems with the SP. Therefore, GroenLinks and the PvdA formed a coalition with the social-liberal D66.

Sport[link]

Stadion de Goffert

Sport in the city is principally focussed on its football club N.E.C. Nijmegen or just NEC, short for Nijmegen Eendracht Combinatie, who play at the 12,500 seat McDOS Goffertstadion. The club is in the top division, the Eredivisie, and qualified for the 2008-9 UEFA Cup.

Bandy Vereniging Nijmegen is the biggest bandy club in the country.

The city is also home to one of the country's oldest cricket clubs, Quick 1888, a current member of the KNCB. Formed in 1888, the club is the largest cricket club in the east of the country and was formed 13 years after the first club, Utile Dulci from Deventer. Moreover the Nijmegen Devils, is an Ice hockey club from Nijmegen.

Natives and residents[link]

See also People from Nijmegen

House in the lower part of Nijmegen, the so-called Benedenstad.

St Stephen's, Nijmegen.

Natives[link]

• Petrus Canisius, saint
• Alex Van Halen, rock musician
• Eddie Van Halen, rock musician
• Jos Hermens (1950) – Athlete
• Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor
• Saadia Himi, Miss Netherlands Earth 2004
• Joris Ivens, filmmaker
• Godfrey Greene,
• Ricardo Diggin,
• Limbourg brothers, medieval painters
• Frank Boeijen, pop singer
• Pie Geelen, Olympic swimmer
• Ron de Groot, football (soccer) player
• Harrie van Heumen, ice hockey forward
• Freek Kinkelaar, musician, plays in the bands Beequeen and Wander
• Henrietta Pressburg, mother of Karl Marx
• Frank Demouge, football (soccer) player
• Anne Quist, Olympic rower
• Princess Irene of the Netherlands, sister of Beatrix of the Netherlands
• Nacer Barazite, football (soccer) player
• Frans de Waard, experimental noise musician, known for his work as Kapotte Muziek
• Gers Pardoel, Dutch rapper

Residents[link]

• Titus Brandsma, philosopher and resistance member
• Edward Ka-Spel, vocalist of The Legendary Pink Dots
• Dries van Agt – politician
• Nina Simone – Jazz musician

International relations[link]

Twin towns — sister cities[link]

Nijmegen is twinned with:

• Gaziantep, Turkey
• Pskov, Russia
• Masaya, Nicaragua
• Albany, New York, United States
• Suzhou, China
• Higashimatsushima, Japan

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nijmegen

• Official site
• A concise history of Nijmegen

v t e Members of the Hanseatic League by Quarter Chief cities are highlighted; Free Imperial Cities of the Holy Roman Empire are shown in italics. Wendish Quarter Lübeck Anklam · Demmin · Greifswald · Hamburg · Kolberg (Kołobrzeg) · Lüneburg · Rostock · Rügenwalde (Darłowo) · Stettin (Szczecin) · Stolp (Słupsk) · Stockholm · Stralsund · Visby · Wismar Saxon Quarter Brunswick Berlin · Bremen · Erfurt · Frankfurt an der Oder · Goslar · Magdeburg Baltic Quarter Danzig (Gdańsk) Breslau (Wrocław) · Dorpat (Tartu) · Elbing (Elbląg) · Königsberg (Kaliningrad) · Kraków · Reval (Tallinn) · Rīga · Thorn (Toruń) Westphalian Quarter Cologne* Dortmund* Deventer · Groningen · Kampen · Münster · Osnabrück · Soest Principal Kontore Bryggen (Bergen) · Hanzekantoor (Bruges, Antwerp†) · Steelyard (London) · Peterhof (Novgorod) Subsidiary Kontore Bishop's Lynn · Falsterbo · Ipswich · Kovno (Kaunas) · Malmö · Polotsk · Pskov Other cities Bristol · Boston · Damme · Leith · Herford · Hull · Newcastle · Stargard · Yarmouth · York * Cologne and Dortmund were both capital of the Westphalian Quarter at different times. † Antwerp gained importance once Bruges became inaccessible due to the silting of the Zwin channel.

v t e    Municipalities of Gelderland Aalten Apeldoorn Arnhem Barneveld Berkelland Beuningen Brummen Bronckhorst Buren Culemborg Doesburg Doetinchem Druten Duiven Ede Elburg Epe Ermelo Geldermalsen Groesbeek Harderwijk Hattem Heerde Heumen Lingewaal Lingewaard Lochem Maasdriel Millingen aan de Rijn Montferland Neder-Betuwe Neerijnen Nijkerk Nijmegen Nunspeet Oldebroek Oost Gelre Oude IJsselstreek Overbetuwe Putten Renkum Rheden Rijnwaarden Rozendaal Scherpenzeel Tiel Ubbergen Voorst Wageningen West Maas en Waal Westervoort Wijchen Winterswijk Zaltbommel Zevenaar Zutphen See also Netherlands Provinces Municipalities

Medal record
Dibaba at the 2008 Bislett Games.
Women's Athletics
Competitor for  Ethiopia
Olympic Games
Gold	2008 Beijing	10000 m
Gold	2008 Beijing	5000 m
Bronze	2004 Athens	5000 m
World Championships
Gold	2003 Paris	5000 m
Gold	2005 Helsinki	5000 m
Gold	2005 Helsinki	10000 m
Gold	2007 Osaka	10000 m
World Cross Country Championships
Gold	2003 Lausanne	Junior race
Gold	2005 Saint-Galmier	Short race
Gold	2005 Saint-Galmier	Long race
Gold	2006 Fukuoka	Long race
Gold	2008 Edinburgh	Senior race
Silver	2002 Dublin	Junior race
Silver	2004 Bruxelles	Short race
Silver	2007 Mombasa	Senior race
African Championships
Gold	2008 Addis Ababa	10000 m
Gold	2010 Nairobi	10000 m
Silver	2006 Bambous	5000 m
World Junior Championships
Silver	2002 Kingston	5000 m

Tirunesh Dibaba also known as Tirunesh Dibaba Kenene (Amharic: ጥሩነሽ ዲባባ ቀነኔ; born October 1, 1985 in Bekoji, Arsi, Ethiopia) is an Ethiopian long distance track athlete and the outdoor 5000 metres world record holder.^[1] She is the current Olympic 5000 metres and 10,000 metres champion. She has also won four world track titles and five world cross country titles. She is nicknamed the "Baby Faced Destroyer".

Born in the village of Bekoji, Dibaba was the 4th of 6 children. She is a member of the Oromo ethnic group, and was raised in the high-altitude Arsi Zone of the Oromia Region. She began doing athletics at the age of 14. She moved to the capital Addis Ababa in 2000.

Dibaba is part of an athletic family, with older sister Ejegayehu Dibaba also making her mark on the international stage and brother Dejene marked as a future star. Their sister Genzebe won the junior race at the 2008 World Cross Country Championships.^[2] 1992 and 2000 Olympic champion Derartu Tulu is also their cousin. She continues the successful athletic history of the Oromo people in long distance running.

Career[link]

Dibaba's first fully international outdoor track event was the 2001 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. Running at the age of 15 in women's junior race, she finished 5th. She won the 5000 m silver medal at the 2003 Afro-Asian Games.

Dibaba had great success in the world championships athletics events of 2003, 2005 and 2007. In 2003, Dibaba won the 5000 m in a sprint finish against Marta Dominguez of Spain and Edith Masai of Kenya. She became the youngest athlete ever to win an individual gold medal at the World Championships. So little was known about her that during this race British commentators Steve Cram and Brendan Foster failed to mention her name even once until the final 100 metres. At the 2005 championships, Dibaba produced a blistering finish to out-sprint compatriot Berhane Adere and her own sister Ejegayehu and also became the first woman to win the 10,000/5,000 m double at the same championships. In 2007, when the championships were held in Osaka, Dibaba again utilised her sprint finish to overhaul Turkey's Elvan Abeylegesse despite a tumble that happened mid-race and having abdominal pains throughout the race. She became the only woman to win back-to-back 10,000 m titles. In Osaka, Dibaba won with a time of 31:55.41.

At the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Dibaba was beaten into third place by Meseret Defar of Ethiopia and Isabella Ochichi of Kenya in 5000 m event. The result was considered by some to be a disappointment but at 19, she still became the youngest ever medalist for Ethiopia at the Olympics.

In 2006 she won five out of six Golden League events (5000 m) in the same season, which earned her a total of $83,333.

Dibaba is also a remarkably successful cross country runner; she has five IAAF World Cross Country Championships victories, including one junior title (Lausanne, 2003), one short course title (Saint-Galmier, 2005), and two long course titles (Saint-Galmier, 2005, and Fukuoka, 2006). From 2007, there was just one race in each category. Dibaba won the silver in the women's race at Mombasa in 2007 and the gold at Edinburgh in 2008.

Dibaba is known to have an on-track rivalry with Meseret Defar, and races featuring the two are highly anticipated, but rare, usually only occurring at championships.

A major feature of Dibaba's running style is an incredible sprint finish. During the final lap of the 10,000 m in 2005, Dibaba was clocked over the closing 400 m in 58.33 seconds.

Double Olympic gold[link]

Dibaba created a new 5000 metres world record, 14 minutes 11.15 seconds, at the Oslo Golden League 2008 meeting.^[1]

Dibaba won 10,000 metres Gold in Beijing Olympic on August 15, 2008, setting a new Olympic record time of 29:54.66; the old record of 30:17.49 had been set by fellow Ethiopian and cousin Derartu Tulu at Sydney Olympic Summer Games back in 2000. The new Olympic record was also the second fastest 10,000 meters of all time and an African record. The previous African record (30:04.18) was held by Berhane Adere, set at the 2003 World Championships.

One week later on August 22, 2008 she won the 5000 metres by beating the defending gold medalist Meseret Defar. Dibaba finished the race in 15:41.40. This olympic double win made her the first ever woman to win both 5000 and 10,000 metres at the same Olympics.^[3]

She was named 2008 Track & Field News Athlete of the Year.^[4] She also received the IAAF award for the female Performance of the Year for 2008, the same award she already collected in 2005.

Injuries after Beijing Olympics[link]

In 2009 injuries prevented her from competing in the 2009 IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Amman and 2009 World Championships in Athletics in Berlin.

On November 15, 2009 she won the Zevenheuvelenloop 15 kilometres race in Nijmegen, Netherlands and beat Kayoko Fukushi's 15 km world record by almost half a minute, finishing in 46:28. This was her first competitive road race since 2005, but she downplayed the idea of moving on to road running, stating that the track remained her priority.^[5]

At 2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Bydgoszcz she couldn't repeat her great performances from previous championships and finished fourth. Dibaba defended her 10,000 m title at 2010 African Championships in Athletics in Nairobi with a time of 31:51.39 ahead of teammate Meselech Melkamu and Linet Masai of Kenya. Her final 400 m was timed at 61 seconds.^[6]

Return in 2012[link]

Her career was again beset by injuries and after 16 months out of competition, she returned at the 2011 New Year's Eve San Silvestre Vallecana and won by beating Gelete Burka in a sprint finish.^[7] She won the two-mile race at the Boston Indoor Grand Prix and took her second career win at the Carlsbad 5000 in March.^[8][9]

Personal life[link]

Dibaba is married to 2004 and 2008 Olympic 10,000 meter silver medallist Sileshi Sihine.

After the Beijing Olympics her club, the Prisons Police, bestowed the rank of Chief Superintendent for her services to club and country.^[10] The hospital named after her is located on the outskirt of Addis Ababa.

IAAF Results[link]

Diamond League[link]

Diamond League is an annual series of track and field meets organised by the IAAF and founded in 2010.

Dibaba celebrating her 10,000 m victory at the 2007 World Championships.

World Athletics Final[link]

World Athletics Final was an annual athletics competition organised by the IAAF from 2003 to 2009.

Golden League[link]

Golden League was an annual series of track and field meetings organised by the IAAF from 1998 to 2009.

Personal bests[link]

Outdoor[link]

Indoor[link]

Video Interview[link]

• Video Interview of Tirunesh Dibaba before and after 2007 IAAF World Championships 10,000m

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tirunesh Dibaba

• The Official Tirunesh Dibaba Website
• IAAF profile for Tirunesh Dibaba
• IAAF "Focus on Athletes" article
• Athletics Africa report
• Tirunesh Dibaba's profile from Global Athletics
• Beijing 2008 Women's 10000 m EthioTube Video
• Beijing 2008 Women's 5000 m EthioTube Video
• Article from Running Times
• Article from Runner's World

Records
Preceded by Meseret Defar	Women's 5,000 m World Record Holder June 6, 2008 – present	Succeeded by Incumbent
Awards
Preceded by Meseret Defar	Women's Track & Field Athlete of the Year 2008	Succeeded by Sanya Richards
Sporting positions
Preceded by Meseret Defar	Women's 5,000 m Best Year Performance 2008–2009	Succeeded by Vivian Cheruiyot