# Samuel Tefera
> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Samuel_Tefera
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Samuel_Tefera.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Tefera
> Source revision: 1317444868
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
{{short description|Ethiopian middle-distance runner}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| name = Samuel Tefera
| image = Samuel Tefera Belgrade 2022.jpg
| image_size = 260px
| caption = Tefera at the [2022 World Indoor Championships](/source/2022_World_Athletics_Indoor_Championships) in [Belgrade](/source/Belgrade)
| nationality = Ethiopian
| sport = [Athletics](/source/Sport_of_athletics)
| event = [1500 metres](/source/1500_metres), [Mile](/source/Mile_run)
| club =
| coach =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1999|10|23|df=y}}
| birth_place = [Midakegn](/source/Midakegn), [Oromia](/source/Oromia), Ethiopia
| height =
| weight =
| pb = {{ubl
| '''Outdoors'''
| '''[1500 m](/source/1500_metres)''': 3:30.71 ([Monaco](/source/Monaco) 2021)
| '''[Mile](/source/Mile_run)''': 3:49.45 ([London](/source/London) 2019)
| '''[5000 m](/source/5000_metres)''': 12:53.44 ([Paris](/source/Paris) 2025)
| '''Indoors'''
| '''1500 m''': 3:31.04 '''{{AthAbbr|AR|African}}''' ([Birmingham](/source/Birmingham) 2019)
| '''Mile''': 3:55.86 ([Athlone](/source/Athlone) 2020)
}}
| show-medals = yes
| medaltemplates =
{{Medal|Sport|Men's [athletics](/source/Sport_of_athletics)}}
{{Medal|Country|{{ETH}}}}
{{MedalCompetition|[World Indoor Championships](/source/IAAF_World_Indoor_Championships)}}
{{MedalGold|[2018 Birmingham](/source/2018_IAAF_World_Indoor_Championships)|[1500 m](/source/2018_IAAF_World_Indoor_Championships_%E2%80%93_Men's_1500_metres)}}
{{MedalGold|[2022 Belgrade](/source/2022_World_Athletics_Indoor_Championships)|[1500 m](/source/2022_World_Athletics_Indoor_Championships_%E2%80%93_Men's_1500_metres)}}
}}
'''Samuel Tefera Name''' (born 23 October 1999) is an Ethiopian [middle-distance runner](/source/Middle-distance_running) who specialises in the [1500 metres](/source/1500_metres). At the age of 18, he became the [2018 World indoor champion](/source/2018_IAAF_World_Indoor_Championships_%E2%80%93_Men's_1500_metres), and defended his title at the [2022 World Indoor Championships](/source/2022_World_Athletics_Indoor_Championships), setting the championship record in the process.[{{Cite web|url=http://www.letsrun.com/news/2018/03/young-ethiopian-samuel-tefera-wins-1500m-gold-36-days-first-indoor-race-blankenship-5th-engels-7th/|title=Young Ethiopian Samuel Tefera Wins 1500m Gold 36 Days after His First Indoor Race, Blankenship 5th, Engels 7th|date=4 March 2018}}][{{Cite web |last=Crumley |first=Euan |date=2022-03-21 |title=Tefera turns the tables on Ingebrigtsen |url=https://athleticsweekly.com/featured/tefera-turns-the-tables-on-ingebrigtsen-1039954869/ |access-date=2022-03-21 |website=[AW](/source/Athletics_Weekly)}}] Tefera is the [African indoor record](/source/List_of_African_records_in_athletics) holder for the 1500 m.
He held the world indoor 1500 m record for three years, with his mark currently being the second-fastest on the respective [world all-time list](/source/1500_metres).[{{Cite web |title=All time Top lists – 1500 m Men – World Indoors {{!}} until 2022-02-23 |url=https://worldathletics.org/records/all-time-toplists/middle-long/1500-metres/indoor/men/senior?regionType=world&page=1&bestResultsOnly=false&oversizedTrack=regular&firstDay=1900-01-01&lastDay=2022-03-23 |access-date=2022-02-23 |website=[World Athletics](/source/World_Athletics)}}]
==Career==
Samuel Tefera made his first major appearance in 2017, when the then-17-year-old represented Ethiopia in the [1500 metres](/source/1500_metres) at the [World Championships](/source/2017_World_Championships_in_Athletics) in London, not advancing from the heats.[{{cite web|url=https://media.aws.iaaf.org/competitiondocuments/pdf/5151/AT-1500-M-h----.RS6.pdf|title=Men's 1500m Results|website=World Athletics|access-date=1 October 2024}}]
In March 2018, he won the gold medal in the event at the [World Indoor Championships](/source/2018_IAAF_World_Indoor_Championships) held in Birmingham. He achieved [3:58.19](/source/2018_IAAF_World_Indoor_Championships_%E2%80%93_Men's_1500_metres) to beat [Marcin Lewandowski](/source/Marcin_Lewandowski) (3:58.39) and [Abdalaati Iguider](/source/Abdalaati_Iguider) (3:58.43).[{{cite web|url=https://worldathletics.org/news/report/world-indoor-birmingham-2018-men-1500-final|title=Report: men's 1500m final – IAAF World Indoor Championships Birmingham 2018|website=World Athletics|date=4 March 2018|access-date=1 October 2024}}]
In February 2019, still 19, Tefera set a world indoor record in his specialty distance at the [Birmingham Indoor Grand Prix](/source/Birmingham_Indoor_Grand_Prix) with a time of three minutes 31.04 seconds. He broke by 0.14 seconds a 22-year-old mark of Moroccan [Hicham El Guerrouj](/source/Hicham_El_Guerrouj).[{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/47265679|title=Samuel Tefera: Ethiopian teenager breaks 22-year-old 1500m world record|date=16 February 2019|publisher=bbc.co.uk}}] Tefera's record was bettered in 2022 by [Jakob Ingebrigtsen](/source/Jakob_Ingebrigtsen).
After suffering an injury he did not finish his semifinal run at the [2019 World Championships](/source/2019_World_Athletics_Championships) in [Doha](/source/Doha).[{{Cite web |last1=Gault |first1=Jonathan |last2=Johnson |first2=Robert |date=2022-03-20 |title=Samuel Tefera Upsets Olympic Champ Jakob Ingebrigtsen in Thriller |url=https://www.letsrun.com/news/2022/03/samuel-tefera-upsets-olympic-champ-jakob-ingebrigtsen-in-thriller/ |access-date=2022-03-21 |website=[LetsRun.com](/source/LetsRun.com)}}] [Timothy Cheruiyot](/source/Timothy_Cheruiyot) won the title.
Tefera represented Ethiopia at the delayed [2020 Tokyo Olympics](/source/Athletics_at_the_2020_Summer_Olympics), where he had an injury problem again and was eliminated in the heats of the [men's 1500 metres](/source/Athletics_at_the_2020_Summer_Olympics_%E2%80%93_Men's_1500_metres).[{{Cite web|title=Athletics TEFERA Samuel|url=https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/olympic-games/en/results/athletics/athlete-profile-n1351959-tefera-samuel.htm|access-date=2021-08-08|work=Tokyo 2020 Olympics}}]