Background
She was born in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa.
marathon runner athletics competitor
She was born in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa.
At the 2007 IAAF World Road Running Championships she finished fourth and set a new national half marathon record of 1:08:07.
The following year she took prominent circuit victories at the Zevenheuvelenloop and the Portugal Half Marathon. Bizunesh narrowly missed being selected for the 2008 Ethiopian Olympic team Although Bizunesh had faster times, Dire Tune was chosen for the team instead, leading to a strained relationship between the two runners.
Bezunesh was third at the Great Manchester Run in 2008, finishing behind Jo Pavey and Rose Cheruiyot.
She made her marathon debut with a run of 2:23:09 in the 2008 Dubai Marathon, taking second place behind Birhane Adere and running one of fastest ever times for a débutante. At the 2009 World Championships in Athletics she was selected to compete in the marathon for Ethiopia and she finished in 16th place.
She ran at the London Marathon in April 2010 and was fourth in a time of 2:23:17. At a rainy Berlin Marathon in September that year she finished the race in 2:24:58, which was enough to take second place behind Aberu Kebede.
A return to London in 2011 saw her make the best finish by an Ethiopian, coming fourth in 2:23:42 hours.
At the 2011 World Championships in Athletics she finished fourth again, narrowly missing out on the podium. Bezunesh improved her four-year-old personal best time with a run at the 2012 Dubai Marathon. Her time of 2:20:30 hours for fourth place moved her into the top twenty fastest woman for the event and made her the third fastest Ethiopian woman.
Bizunesh"s husband, Tessema Abshiro, is also a marathon runner with the Ethiopian national team
Personal bests.