Top 10 African athletes who blazed a trail for women in sports

Meseret Defar (Ethiopia)

The Ethiopian athlete who specialized in long-distance running was the Olympic 5,000 meters champion at Athens 2004 and London 2012. Born in 1983 in Addis Ababa, Defar was also a bronze medalist in Beijing 2008. She was also the 5000m outdoor world champion twice in Osaka 2007 and Moscow 2013. Defar, on June 3, 2006, in New York, broke the world record of 5000m by finishing in 14 min 24.s 53. One year later, in February, she beat another world record in Stuttgart. In Stockholm 2009, she once again broke the  5,000 meters world record in 14 min 24, 37. Defar won a silver and two bronze medals at the 2005, 2009, and 2011 world championships, and two silver medals in 2012 and 2016. She was a four-time champion on the 3000m indoor track in 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010.