She may only be 22 years old, but Diribe Welteji is already well on the way to establishing herself as one of the best distance runners of her generation.
Following her World Championships silver medal in Budapest last season, Welteji enjoyed another breakthrough campaign in 2024.
The Ethiopian narrowly missed out on a medal with her fourth-placed finish in the 1500m at the Olympic Games in Paris, and suffered another near miss when she finished second to Kenyan legend Faith Kipyegon at the Wanda Diamond League Final in Brussels.
Yet despite those agonisingly close calls, Welteji still ended the season with a trophy in her hand.
Her 3:55.25 in Brussels was not quite enough to beat Kipyegon, but it was the best result by a female athlete aged 23 or under at the Wanda Diamond League Final, making Welteji the first woman to win the Jesse Owens Rising Star Award.
A collaboration between the Owens family, the Jesse Owens Foundation and the Wanda Diamond League, the award honours the legacy of the one of the sport's biggest names while also highlighting the best upcoming talent in track and field.
Welteji's performance saw her join 200m Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo on the winners' podium and take home a bronze statuette of the legendary US sprinter Owens.
It crowned a stunning Wanda Diamond League season for the Ethiopian, who claimed no fewer than three victories in athletics' premier one-day series in 2024.
Welteji opened her season with a solid fourth-place finish in Xiamen, before delivering an emphatic victory in Eugene with a 1500m personal best of 3:53.75.
That was only the second Diamond League victory of her career, but it opened the floodgates for more wins in the second half of the season.
After her near miss in Paris, Welteji returned to the Diamond League circuit with a point to prove, and promptly stormed to a meeting record and personal best of 8:21.50 in the 3000m in Lausanne.
She returned to the 1500m a few days later in Silesia, clocking 3:57.08 to win in the same stadium where she had taken her first Diamond League win back in 2022.
At the final in Brussels, she pushed Kipyegon right to the finish line in a thrilling 1500m battle, coming in less than a second behind the five-time Diamond League champion.
That performance was enough to secure the Jesse Owens Rising Star Award and confirm Welteji's status as one of the most exciting talents in track and field.
About the Jesse Owens Rising Star Award
The Jesse Owens Rising Star Award honours the best performing male and female athletes aged 23 or under at each Wanda Diamond League Final.
The award, a collaboration between the Owens family, the Jesse Owens Foundation and the Wanda Diamond League, aims to celebrate young talent in athletics and honour the legacy of one of global track and field’s most iconic figures.
Jesse Owens was 23 years old when he won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games in Nazi-era Berlin, writing himself indelibly into the sporting history books.
