Fotyen Tesfay

Fotyen Tesfay is an Ethiopian long-distance runner specializing in road racing and track events. She has achieved notable success in half marathons, setting records and competing at the highest level.

Career

Fotyen Tesfay emerged on the international scene in 2016, placing 4th in the women's 3000 metres event at the 2016 IAAF World U20 Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland. In the same year, she won the Great Ethiopian Run 10km road race.
In 2017, she competed in the junior women's race at the 2017 IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Kampala, Uganda, finishing 6th. She also finished 11th in the senior women's race at the 2019 IAAF World Cross Country Championships held in Aarhus, Denmark. In 2020, she won the 63rd edition of the Campaccio cross country race in Italy.
Tesfay made a significant impact in 2024 and 2025. In April 2025, she shattered the course record at the Berlin Half Marathon with a time of 1:03:35, which was also the fifth-fastest women's half marathon time ever recorded globally at the time. She also competed in the women's 10,000 metres event at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
In July 2023, Tesfay won the AJC Peachtree Road Race with a time of 30:43.
In August 2023, she finished second at the TD Beach to Beacon 10K with a time of 31:38.
Her personal best in the half marathon is 1:03:21, set in October 2024 at the Valencia Half Marathon.