Diribe Welteji Kejelcha (born 13 May 2002) is an Ethiopian middle-distance runner. She won the silver medal in the 1500 metres at the 2023 World Championships and placed fourth in the 800 metres at the 2022 World Championships.
At age 16, Welteji won the 800 m at the 2018 World U20 Championships, breaking the championship record in the process. She took silver for the 1500 metres at the 2021 World U20 Championships.
In February 2026, Welteji received a two-year ban in relation for failing to provide drug sample, without justification, the previous year. The Court of Arbitration for Sport backdated her ban to September 2025 and disqualified all results from 25 February 2025, including her silver medal in the 1500 m at the 2025 World Indoor Championships.
Career A 16-year-old Diribe Welteji won the gold medal for the 800 m event at the 2018 World Under-20 Championships in Tampere, where she also competed in the women's 4 × 400 m relay without reaching the final, but achieving an Ethiopian junior record.
In 2019, she won a gold in the 1500 metres at the African U20 Championships, finished sixth in the 800 m event at the African Games in Rabat, and was eliminated in the semi-finals of the 800 m event at the Doha World Championships.
The 19-year-old competed without success in the women's 1500 m at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics in August 2021, but the same month took silver in this event at the World U20 Championships held in Nairobi.
Welteji placed fourth in the 800 m at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon in July with a time of 1:57.02. In August, she won her first Diamond League meeting with a 1500 m victory, beating her esteemed compatriot Gudaf Tsegay at the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial in Chorzów, Poland. Welteji improved her personal best by more than two seconds and set a meet record with 3:56.91.
On 1 October 2023, Welteji broke the 1 mile women's road record by running 4:20.98 in Riga at the World Athletics Road Running Championships.
In December 2024, it was announced that she had signed up for the inaugural season of the Michael Johnson founded Grand Slam Track.
In May 2025, the Ethiopia National Anti-Doping Office (ETH-NADO) issued an anti-doping rule violation charge against Welteji for "allegedly refusing to provide a sample for an out-of-competition doping control without any justification". Although an ETH-NADO hearing panel held in August 2025 found that no ADRV had been committed, the Athletics Integrity Unit filed an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in early September. On 12 September, CAS declared that Welteji was ineligible to compete in the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo and would remain suspended during the CAS arbitration procedure. The CAS released its decision in February 2026, handing Weltiji a two-year ban.
Achievements International competitions 2018World U20 ChampionshipsTampere, Finland1st800 m1:59.74 13th (h) relay3:39.29 2019African U20 ChampionshipsAbidjan, Ivory Coast1st1500 m4:11.59African GamesRabat, Morocco6th800 m2:04.20World ChampionshipsDoha, Qatar18th (sf)800 m2:02.692021Olympic GamesTokyo, Japan35th (h)1500 m4:10.25World U20 ChampionshipsNairobi, Kenya2nd1500 m4:16.392022World ChampionshipsEugene, OR, United States4th800 m1:57.02 2023World ChampionshipsBudapest, Hungary2nd1500 m3:55.69World Athletics Road Running ChampionshipsRiga, Latvia1stRoad mile4:20.98 2024World Indoor ChampionshipsGlasgow, United Kingdom5th1500 m4:03.82Olympic GamesParis, France4th1500 m3:52.752025World Indoor ChampionshipsNanjing, ChinaDQ1500 m3:59.30
Circuit performances
Wins and titles Diamond League 2022: Chorzów Kamila Skolimowska Memorial (1500m, )
Personal bests 800 metres – 1:57.02 (Eugene, OR July 2022) 1500 metres – 3:53.93 (Eugene, OR September 2023) 3000 metres indoor – 8:33.44 (Val-de-Reuil February 2023)
References
External links
Diribe Welteji at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics (archived, alternate link)