Getenesh "Gete" Wami Degife (Amharic: ጌጤነሽ 'ጌጤ' ዋሚ ደግፌ born 28 January 1974 in Debre Berhan)Gete Wami . Sports Reference. Retrieved 28 October 2013. is an Ethiopian former long-distance runner who competed in cross country, track, and road events.
Her brother, Mulugeta Wami, is also a professional marathon runner.Wami en Deriba winnaars in Egmond, Butter en Borst leveren knappe prestatie . NU.nl (13 January 2008). Retrieved 26 May 2026.
Biography Gete won the gold medal at the 1999 World Championships in Seville, with a time of 30:24.56, which was a new African record and Championships Record. She also won the 10,000 m gold medal at the 1999 All-Africa Games that year. She is a two-time winner of the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, having taken the long race title in 1996 and then the short race title in 2001.
Gete won the 2006 Berlin Marathon, finishing in front of Salina Kosgei and Monika Drybulska on 24 September.(24 September 2006). World-leading 2:05:56 for Gebrselassie in Berlin. World Athletics. Retrieved 26 May 2026. She was expected to beat the world record over 15 km during the Zevenheuvelenloop in and around Nijmegen on 19 November 2006, but failed. Gete finished in second position during the race, nine seconds behind Mestewat Tufa, who finished in 47:22.
In 2007, Gete won the Berlin Marathon again. She competed in the New York Marathon thirty-five days later and she finished 23 seconds behind Paula Radcliffe. Her second-place finish gave her the World Marathon Majors Series Title, earning herself the $500,000 jackpot.
In August 2008, Gete dropped out of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Marathon, after running in the lead pack for much of the race, as did her teammate Berhane Adere.
The last outing of her career came at the 2009 London Marathon, where she came in ninth with a time of 2:26:54.
International competitions Representing 1992World Junior ChampionshipsSeoul, South Korea2nd10,000 m32:41.571995World ChampionshipsGothenburg, Sweden18th10,000 m32:56.94 1996Olympic GamesAtlanta, United States3rd10,000 m31:06.65 1997World ChampionshipsAthens, Greece—10,000 mDNF1999World ChampionshipsSeville, Spain1st10,000 m30:24.56 2000Olympic GamesSydney, Australia3rd5000 m14:42.232nd10,000 m30:22.482001World ChampionshipsEdmonton, Canada3rd10,000 m31:49.98 2008Olympic GamesBeijing, China—MarathonDNF
Road races 2002Amsterdam MarathonAmsterdam, Netherlands1stMarathon2005San Diego Rock 'n' Roll MarathonSan Diego, United States1stMarathon2006Berlin MarathonBerlin, Germany1stMarathonZevenheuvelenloopNijmegen, Netherlands2nd15K2007Berlin MarathonBerlin, Germany1stMarathonNew York City MarathonNew York City, United States2ndMarathonWorld Marathon MajorsSeries1stMarathon
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