Abeba Aregawi

{{Hatnote|In this Ethiopian name, the name Aregawi is a patronymic, and the person should be referred by the given name, Abeba.}}

{{Infobox sportsperson|

| name = Abeba Aregawi

| image = Abeba Aregawi Zurich 2014 (cropped).jpg

| imagesize =

| caption = Aregawi at the 2014 European Athletics Championships in Zürich

| nationality = Ethiopian
Swedish (since June 2012)

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1990|7|5}}

| birth_place = Adigrat, Ethiopia

| height =

| weight =

| sport = Athletics

| event = 800 metres, 1500 metres

| club = none

| collegeteam =

| retired = 2018{{Cite web|url=https://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/a/gP9lwB/abeba-aregawi-har-avslutat-sin-karriar|title = Abeba Aregawi har avslutat sin karriär| date=28 November 2018 }} (resumed running in 2024){{World Athletics}}

| pb =

| medaltemplates = {{Medal|Sport|Women's athletics}}

{{Medal|Country|{{ETH}}}}

{{Medal|Country|{{SWE}}}}

}}Abeba Aregawi Gebretsadik (Amharic: አበባ አረጋዊ; born 5 July 1990) is an Ethiopian-born Swedish middle-distance runner who specialised in the 1,500 metres. She won the silver medal in the 1,500 m at the 2012 Summer Olympics and a gold medal at the World Championships in 2013. She represented Ethiopia internationally until December 2012, and afterwards represented Sweden.

Biography

Abeba Aregawi was born in Adigrat, Ethiopia in the Tigray Region. She represented Ethiopia internationally until December 2012, after she became a naturalized Swedish citizen.http://www.svt.se/sport/friidrott/abeba-aregawi-sveriges-stora-guldhopp "Abeba Aregawi Sveriges stora guldhopp" (in Swedish) SVT. 15 August 2013[http://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/friidrott/article17303163.ab "Här blir hon historisk"] (in Swedish) Aftonbladet. 16 August 2013.[https://www.dn.se/sport/aregawis-debut-nara-varldsrekordet/ "Aregawis debut nära världsrekordet"] (in Swedish) Dagens Nyheter. 16 August 2013. She represented the Stockholm-based club Hammarby IF to January 2016.{{cite web|url=http://www.hammarbyfriidrott.se/Arkiv/Nyhetsarkiv/Aretsnyheter/HammarbyIFFriidrottavslutarsamarbetetmedAbebaAregawi |title=Hammarby IF Friidrott avslutar samarbetet med Abeba Aregawi - Hammarby IF FI - Friidrott - IdrottOnline Klubb |access-date=2016-08-08 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160921181247/http://www.hammarbyfriidrott.se/Arkiv/Nyhetsarkiv/Aretsnyheter/HammarbyIFFriidrottavslutarsamarbetetmedAbebaAregawi |archive-date=2016-09-21 }}

Abeba was married to an Ethiopian man with Swedish citizenship and lived in Stockholm from 2009 to 2012.{{citation needed|date=August 2021}} She is now remarried to Yemane Tsegay and lives in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.{{citation needed|date=August 2021}}

Athletic career

=2009=

Abeba emerged as an 800 metres runner in 2009 by winning the Ethiopian title in the event ahead of three-time champion Mestawet Tadesse.[http://www.iaaf.org/news/kind=100/newsid=50411.html "Ahmed and Kebede sprint for victory"]. IAAF. 3 May 2009. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025053442/http://www.iaaf.org/news/kind%3D100/newsid%3D50411.html |date=25 October 2012 }} She competed at a number of European meets after this then set a personal best of 2:01.98 minutes in Tangiers. Her season culminated in an 800 m bronze medal at the 2009 African Junior Athletics Championships, where she finished behind Caster Semenya.[http://wjah.co.uk/wojc/AFJC/AFJC2009.html#21014 "African Championships 2009"] World Junior Athletics History. 10 June 2012. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111023134452/http://wjah.co.uk/wojc/AFJC/AFJC2009.html#21014 |date=October 23, 2011 }}

=2010=

She switched to the 1500 metres in the 2010 season and enjoyed success with wins at the Sollentuna Grand Prix and KBC Night of Athletics meetings, setting a personal best of 4:01.96 minutes at the latter race. She also ran on the 2010 Diamond League circuit for the first time, coming fourth at the DN Galan and seventh at the Weltklasse Zurich.

=2011=

Abeba had a strong indoor season in 2011, with four straight wins in Düsseldorf, Gent, Birmingham and Stockholm, including a personal best run of 4:01.47 minutes. However, she only made one appearance outdoors as her season was stopped due to injury.[http://www.tilastopaja.org/db/atw.php?ID=68213&Season=2011&Odd=0 "Abeba Aregawi"]. Tilastopaja. 10 June 2012.{{dead link|date=February 2016}}{{cite news | url=http://en.omriyadat.com/african-athletics/swedish-runner-aregawi-wishes-to-compete-at-the-rio| title = Swedish Runner Aregawi wishes to compete at the Rio | date = July 15, 2016}}

=2012=

She emerged as one of the world's top 1500 m runners on the 2012 IAAF Diamond League circuit, she won also overall title of Diamond league 2012: 1500 m. She was second to Genzebe Dibaba at the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix,[http://www.iaaf.org/competitions/dlm/news/newsid=65015.html "Liu Xiang and G. Dibaba the standouts in rainy Shanghai"]. IAAF. 19 May 2012. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120520144924/http://www.iaaf.org/competitions/dlm/news/newsid%3D65015.html |date=20 May 2012 }} running a best of 3:59.23 minutes. However, she defeated her rival at the Golden Gala, breaking the Ethiopian national record with a run of 3:56.54 minutes,[http://www.iaaf.org/competitions/dlm/news/newsid=65144.html "Bolt’s blazing 9.76 one of seven world leads on electric night in Rome"]. IAAF. 31 May 2012 {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120602171813/http://www.iaaf.org/competitions/dlm/news/newsid%3D65144.html |date=2 June 2012 }} literally days before receiving Swedish citizenship, then won again at the Bislett Games.[http://www.iaaf.org/competitions/dlm/news/newsid=65222.html "Bolt’s 9.79 victory tops the charts In Oslo"]. IAAF. 7 June 2012. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120610002525/http://www.iaaf.org/competitions/dlm/news/newsid%3D65222.html |date=10 June 2012 }} Abeba won both the 800 m and the 1500 m for Hammarby IF in the Swedish team championships on June 20. Representing Ethiopia at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Abeba ran the fastest time in the 1500 metres competition. However, that was while winning the second semi-final race. In the slow, strategic final, Abeba came off the final turn a step behind the eventual winner Aslı Çakır Alptekin, but faded badly with 20 meters to go in the final straight, initially finishing fifth. After the race, Alptekin, silver medalist Gamze Bulut and bronze medalist Tatyana Tomashova were all disqualified due to doping violations, and Abeba was subsequently re-allocated the silver medal in 2024.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcbayarea.com/paris-2024-summer-olympics/shannon-rowbury-bronze-medal-2012-olympics/3641995/?os=firetv&ref=app|title=US runner Shannon Rowbury set to earn a bronze medal from 2012 Olympics. Here's why|last=The Associated Press|date=Sep 3, 2024|accessdate=Dec 16, 2024}}

=2013=

File:Women's 1500m at Moscow 2013 01.jpg in Moscow.]]

Abeba contested her first race representing Sweden at international level during the European Indoor Championships in front of her home crowd in Gothenburg, where she won the gold medal. She won the first five Diamond League events and secured the overall title with two races left. She set the Swedish national record in the 1500 at 3:56.60 (just .06 slower than her Ethiopian record the previous season) at the first Diamond League meet in Doha, Qatar. Four weeks later, she added the Swedish record at 800 metres, taking it down to 1:59.20 at the Fanny Blankers-Koen Games in Hengelo, Netherlands. Both records took down marks by Malin Ewerlöf-Krepp that were almost 15 years old.

At the World Championships in Moscow Abeba won the gold medal at 1500 metres, Sweden's eighth gold medal since the first championships in 1983.[http://www.iaaf.org/news/feature/abeba-aregawi-a-new-champion-in-new-colours "Abeba Aregawi: a new champion in new colors"] IAAF. 15 August 2013.

=2014=

On 6 February, Abeba won the 1500 m race at XL Galan in Ericsson Globe at the time of 3:57.91. The time was a new European indoor record and the second best of all time. During the indoor season she also won the World Indoor Championships and took her third straight gold medal in international championships.

=Doping suspension=

On February 29, 2016, the Swedish Athletics Federation stated that Aregawi had tested positive for the substance (meldonium) in January 2016.{{cite web|url=https://www.si.com/more-sports/2016/02/29/abeba-aregawi-tests-postive-banned-substance-suspended-track-and-field|title=World champion Abeba Aregawi tests positive for banned substance|author=SI Wire|date=29 February 2016|access-date=29 February 2016}} She was provisionally suspended from competing the same day. In July 2016, the Swedish Doping Commission lifted her suspension due to insufficient evidence on how long the drug - which was prohibited only January 2016 - takes to be excreted from the body.{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sport-doping-sweden-aregawi-idUSKCN0ZU2CC|title = Aregawi has doping ban lifted, hopes to make Olympics|newspaper = Reuters|date = 14 July 2016|last1 = O'Connor|first1 = Philip}}

Aregawi was officially struck from the list of active athletes by the Swedish Athletics Association on 28 November 2018.{{Cite web|url=https://www.expressen.se/sport/friidrott/forsvunnen-i-tre-ar-nu-lagger-hon-av/|title=Försvunnen i tre år – nu avslutar hon karriären|date=28 November 2018 }}

=2024-25=

After a nine-year hiatus from competition, Aregawi returned to race two road 10K races in 2024. In March 2025, Aregawi finished 3rd at the Lisbon Half Marathon in a time of 1:06:36 to break the Swedish half marathon record. She stated in a press release after, "I plan to compete in both the upcoming European Championships and the World Championships in Japan".{{cite web|url=https://www.viasport.com/en/athletics/aregawi-eyes-national-team-return/14469|title=Aregawi Eyes National Team Return|website=viasport.com|access-date=12 March 2025}}

Achievements

File:Abeba Aregawi Moscow 2013.jpg.]]

=International competitions=

{{AchievementTable\|Event=yes\|Time=yes\|NotesOff=yes}}
colspan=6\|Representing {{ETH}}
2012 \|Olympic Games \|London, United Kingdom \|bgcolor=silver\|2nd \|1500 m \|4:11.03
colspan=6\|Representing {{SWE}}
rowspan=2\|2013 \|European Indoor Championships \|Gothenburg, Sweden \|bgcolor=gold\|1st \|1500 m \|4:04.47
World Championships \|Moscow, Russia \|bgcolor=gold\|1st \|1500 m \|4:02:67
rowspan=2\|2014 \|World Indoor Championships \|Sopot, Poland \|bgcolor=gold\|1st \|1500 m \|4:00.61
European Championships \|Zurich, Switzerland \|bgcolor=silver\|2nd \|1500 m \|4:05.08
2015 \|World Championships \|Beijing, China \|6th \|1500 m \|4:12.16

colspan=6|Representing {{ETH}}

2012

|Olympic Games

|London, United Kingdom

|bgcolor=silver|2nd

|1500 m

|4:11.03

colspan=6|Representing {{SWE}}

rowspan=2|2013

|European Indoor Championships

|Gothenburg, Sweden

|bgcolor=gold|1st

|1500 m

|4:04.47

World Championships

|Moscow, Russia

|bgcolor=gold|1st

|1500 m

|4:02:67

rowspan=2|2014

|World Indoor Championships

|Sopot, Poland

|bgcolor=gold|1st

|1500 m

|4:00.61

European Championships

|Zurich, Switzerland

|bgcolor=silver|2nd

|1500 m

|4:05.08

2015

|World Championships

|Beijing, China

|6th

|1500 m

|4:12.16

=Circuit wins and titles=

Diamond League Overall 1500 metres winner: 2012, 2013

16px = IAAF Diamond League event

;2011

;2012

18px Golden Gala, Rome
18px Bislett Games, Oslo
18px Weltklasse, Zürich
Diamond League, World Overall winner: 1500 metres women

;2013

18px Adidas Grand Prix, New York City
18px Golden Gala, Rome
Fanny Blankers-Koen Games, Hengelo (800 m)
18px British Grand Prix, Birmingham
18px Athletissima, Lausanne
18px Memorial Van Damme, Brussels
Sweden-Finland International, Stockholm
Diamond League, World Overall winner: 1500 metres women

;2014

Personal bests

Event \|\| Time (m:s) \|\| Venue \|\| Competition \|\| Date \|\| Notes
class="wikitable"
800 metres	align=center\|1:59.20	Hengelo, Netherlands	FBK Games	align=right\|8 June 2013	Swedish record
1500 metres (ETH)	align=center\|3:56.54	Rome, Italy	Golden Gala	align=right\|31 May 2012	Ethiopian record
1500 metres (SWE)	align=center\|3:56.60	Doha, Qatar	Athletic Super GP	align=right\|10 May 2013	Swedish record
1500 metres indoor	align=center\|3:57.91	Stockholm, Sweden	XL Galan	align=right\|6 February 2014	Swedish record, 3rd of all time
Half marathon	align=center\| 1:06:36	Lisbon, Portugal	Lisbon Half Marathon	align=right\| 9 March 2025	Swedish record

References

External links

{{World Athletics}}
[http://www.diamondleague.com/athletes/14360651.htm Diamond League profile]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20100820025137/http://www4.idrottonline.se/default.aspx?id=19583 Athlete profile]
{{SR/Olympics profile|ar/abeba-aregawi-1}}

{{succession box|before=Yelena Soboleva|title=Women's 1500 m European Indoor Record Holder|years=February 6, 2014 – |after=Incumbent}}