Atsede Habtamu Besuye (born 26 October 1987) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who specialises in road running and the marathon distance.
She came to prominence at the IAAF World Road Running Championships in 2007 where, at the age of nineteen, she ran a time of 1:08:29 for the half marathon – a record for a teenage athlete. She stepped up to the marathon a couple of years later and was runner-up on her debut at the Dubai Marathon. She ran at the Boston Marathon later that year but had her first success at the Berlin Marathon, which she won in a personal best time of 2:24:47. She ran course records to win at the 2010 Eindhoven Marathon, 2011 Daegu Marathon and 2012 Tokyo Marathon.
Career Born in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa,Atsede Habtamu . Demadonna. Retrieved 2011-11-28. Atsede Habtamu's first appearances at elite level came about after a performance at the Ethiopian 20 km trials for the 2007 IAAF World Road Running Championships. Her finishing time of 1:11.06 for second place behind Bezunesh Bekele was a surprise result for the unknown athlete.Negash, Elshadai (2007-08-27). Gezhagne and B. Bekele take Ethiopian 20km titles. World Athletics. Retrieved 2026-05-21.Negash, Elshadai (2007-11-22). Alemu heads strong women's field at Great Ethiopian Run - PREVIEW. World Athletics. Retrieved 2026-05-21. At the World Road Running Championships in Udine, Italy, she was fifth and finished behind Bezunesh who set a national record for the distance and led the Ethiopians to the team silver medal.2007 World Championships Half Marathon - W Final. World Athletics. Retrieved 2010-10-12. Her time of 1:08:29 made the 19-year-old Atsede the fastest ever teenager to run the half marathon at that point.Atsede Habtamu . World Marathon Majors, Retrieved 2010-10-12. She ran at the Delhi Half Marathon two weeks later and led through much of the race, eventually clocking 1:10:30 to finish as runner-up behind Deriba Alemu.Krishnan, Ram Murali (2007-10-28). Disi, Alemu the winners in New Delhi Half-Marathon. World Athletics. Retrieved 2026-05-21. The Great Ethiopian Run the following month was her first major race over 10 kilometres, but she faded in the final third of the race and finished in ninth position.Negash, Elshadai (2007-11-25). Convincing victories for Kebede, Ayalew at Great Ethiopian Run. World Athletics. Retrieved 2026-05-21.
She signed up for the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon in February 2008 and a tactical race resulted in Atsede recording the same time as Salina Kosgei and Pamela Chepchumba, with the Ethiopian taking third place on the podium.Butcher, Pat (2008-02-08). Kenya secures swift but exceptionally tight doubles at the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon. World Athletics. Retrieved 2026-05-21. She took both athletes again a month later at the Lisbon Half Marathon but, while the Kenyans completed a 1–2, Atsede was sixth in the competition.Fernandes, António Manuel (2008-03-14). In largely solo run, Gebrselassie takes Lisbon Half Marathon. World Athletics. Retrieved 2026-05-21. For the 2008 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships, she led the Ethiopian women's team Negash, Elshadai (2008-10-01). Olympian Merga leads Ethiopia's World Half Marathon squad for Rio. World Athletics. Retrieved 2026-05-21. However, she was beaten by three of her compatriots and her eighth-place finish left her out of both the individual and team medals.2008 World Half Marathon Championships Women's Final. World Athletics. (2008-10-10). Retrieved 2026-05-21. She took on two of her national rivals (Aselefech Mergia and Getanesh Getanah) at the Delhi Half Marathon in November but again finished behind them, although her time of 1:09:37 was enough for fourth place.Three go sub-60, as Ethiopia sweep titles in Delhi Half Marathon. World Athletics. (2008-11-09). Retrieved 2026-05-21. She closed the year with a third-place finish at the Bahir Dar Cross Country meeting.Negash, Elshadai (2008-12-15). Tola and Urgessa triumph in inaugural Bahir Dar Cross Country. World Athletics. Retrieved 202-05-21.
Marathon debut The Dubai Marathon in January 2009 was the venue for Atsede's debut over the marathon distance. While poor weather prevented the possibility of a quick time, she finished in 2:25:17 for second place behind Bezunesh, beating more experienced runners including defending champion Berhane Adere and Helena Kirop.Butcher, Pat (2009-01-16). Despite heavy rains, Gebrselassie clocks 2:05:29 in Dubai. World Athletics. Retrieved 2026-05-21. Given her strong first time performance, she was among the elite women's field for the Boston Marathon three months later. She ran a time of 2:35:34 for seventh place in her first outing in North America.Morse, Parker (2009-04-20). Merga dominates, Kosgei edges Tune - Boston Marathon. World Athletics. Retrieved 2026-05-21. The 21-year-old took part in her second World Marathon Major of the year at the Berlin Marathon in September. Her fellow Ethiopian Askale Tafa was the pre-race favourite, but Atsede upset the prediction by taking the lead at the 30 km and never relinquishing it. She recorded a personal best of 2:24:47 to win the race, crossing the line over a minute and half ahead of the rest of the field."I am happy to have reached my goal and achieved a time of sub 2:25", she said. "From 30 k onwards I had problems with my left big toe, but despite this I felt strong and confident."Wenig, Jörg (2009-09-20). Gebrselassie takes fourth Berlin Marathon title. World Athletics. Retrieved 2026-05-21.
She opened the 2010 season by returning to the half marathon in Ras Al Khaimah. She was sixth in the race while distance-débutante Elvan Abeylegesse took the honours.Fairlie, Greg (2010-02-19). Stunning 1:07:07 Half Marathon debut by Abeylegesse Ras Al Khaimah. World Athletics. Retrieved 2026-05-21. She turned her attention to the London Marathon in April, but was beaten into twelfth place and finished almost ten minutes behind race winner Liliya Shobukhova.Brown, Matthew (2010-04-25). Commanding victories for Kebede and Shobukhova - London Marathon report. World Athletics. Retrieved 2026-05-21. Her next marathon appearance came at the Eindhoven Marathon in October and she led from the start and seemed likely to break her personal best. Helped by her own pacemaker, she reached the 30 km mark a minute faster than her Berlin run. She slowed in the final few kilometres but her time of 2:25:35 brought her her first marathon win and a new course record – bettering Nadja Wijenberg's mark which had stood for over a decade.van Hemert, Wim (2010-10-10). In a thriller, Kamathi takes 2:07:38 victory in Eindhoven. World Athletics. Retrieved 2026-05-21.Atsede Habtamu. World Athletics. Retrieved 2026-05-21. She set a new personal best of 2:24:26 at the Dubai Marathon in January 2011, where she came fourth.Butcher, Pat (2011-01-21). Barmasai and Mergia fight headwind to take Dubai Marathon wins. World Athletics. Retrieved 2026-05-21.
She came close to winning the national title at the Major General Hayelom Araya 15km Championships in February, but was edged at the line by Dire Tune.Negash, Elshadai (2011-02-13). Fast 41.54 for Merga in Bahir Dar. World Athletics. Retrieved 2026-05-21. She came third at the World's Best 10K, forming an Ethiopian sweep with Sentayehu Ejigu and Dire Tune.Clavelo Robinson, Javier (2011-02-28). Kitwara regains title, Ejigu notches victorious 10km debut in San Juan. World Athletics. Retrieved 2026-05-21. She claimed victory at the Daegu Marathon, running a race record time of 2:25:52 for the test course of the 2011 World Championships in Athletics.Jalava, Mirko (2011-04-11). Course records fall at Daegu Marathon. World Athletics. Retrieved 2026-05-21. She ran a personal best of 2:24.25 hours at the 2011 Berlin Marathon, which was only enough for fourth place behind Paula Radcliffe in a quick field.Butcher, Pat (2011-09-25). Makau stuns with 2:03:38 Marathon World record in Berlin! - UPDATED. World Athletics. Retrieved 2026-05-21. At the Great Ethiopian Run in November she came third behind fellow marathoner Tiki Gelana.Negash, Elshadai (2011-11-27). Geremew, Afework take surprise Great Ethiopian Run 10km victories. World Athletics. Retrieved 2026-05-21. A fast finish at the 2012 Tokyo Marathon saw her break the course record with a winning time of 2:25:28 hours.Nakamura, Ken (2012-02-26). Kipyego wins Tokyo Marathon, Gebrselassie fades to a disappointing fourth. World Athletics. Retrieved 2026-05-21.
Personal bests EventTime (h:m:s)VenueDate10 km31:28New Delhi, India9 November 2008Half marathon1:08:29Udine, Italy14 October 2007Marathon2:24:25Berlin, Germany25 September 2011 All information taken from IAAF profile.
Major victories 2009 Berlin Marathon 2010 Eindhoven Marathon (course record: 2:25:35) 2011 Daegu Marathon (course record: 2:25:52) 2012 Tokyo Marathon (course record: 2:25:28)
References
External links
MarathonInfo profile