Fatuma Roba

Fatuma Roba
Personal information
Born December 18, 1973

Fatuma Roba (born December 18, 1973) is an Ethiopian long distance runner from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, most known for being the first African woman to win a gold medal in the women's Olympic marathon race at the Atlanta 1996 Summer Olympics. She finished fourth at the 1999 World Championships in Athletics.

Roba also won three straight Boston Marathons from 1997–1999, earning her the nickname "Our Lady of Boston".[1] The three-time Boston champion narrowly missed a fourth straight title in 2000, coming in third in the closest finish in race history.[2] She also won the Rome City Marathon in 1996, the Portugal Half Marathon in 2001 and the Nagano Olympic Commemorative Marathon in 2004. She was the 10,000 metres bronze medallist at the 1993 African Championships in Athletics.

Personal bests

Achievements

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing  Ethiopia
1992 World Half Marathon Championships Newcastle, United Kingdom 6th Half marathon 1:10:28
1995 World Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 19th Marathon 2:39:27
1996 Rome City Marathon Rome, Italy 1st Marathon 2:29:05
1996 Olympic Games Atlanta, United States 1st Marathon 2:26:05
1997 Boston Marathon Boston, United States 1st Marathon 2:26:23
World Championships Athens, Greece — Marathon DNF
1998 Boston Marathon Boston, United States 1st Marathon 2:23:21
1999 Boston Marathon Boston, United States 1st Marathon 2:23:25
2000 Boston Marathon Boston, United States 3rd Marathon 2:26:27
2000 Olympic Games Sydney, Australia 9th Marathon 2:27:38
2001 World Championships Edmonton, Canada 13th Marathon 2:31:10
2004 Nagano Marathon Nagano, Japan 1st Marathon 2:28:05

References

External links