# Ethiopia at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Ethiopia competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics held in Beijing, People's Republic of China from August 8 to August 24, 2008.
10,000 m runner Tirunesh Dibaba ran the second fastest 10,000 metres of all time, setting an Olympic record of 29 minutes, 54.66 seconds.

## Medalists

| Medal | Name | Sport | Event |
| Gold | Tirunesh Dibaba | Athletics | Women's 10000 m |
| Gold | Tirunesh Dibaba | Athletics | Women's 5000 m |
| Gold | Kenenisa Bekele | Athletics | Men's 10000 m |
| Gold | Kenenisa Bekele | Athletics | Men's 5000 m |
| Silver | Sileshi Sihine | Athletics | Men's 10000 m |
| Silver | Meseret Defar | Athletics | Women's 5000 m |
| Bronze | Tsegay Kebede | Athletics | Men's marathon |

## Athletics

The Ethiopian track and field team was announced on July 13, 2008.

### Men

| Athlete | Event | Heat | Heat | Semifinal | Semifinal | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank |
| Gashaw Asfaw | Marathon | — | — | — | — | 2:10:52 | 7 |
| Kenenisa Bekele | 5000 m | 13:40.13 | 3 Q | — | — | 12:57.82 OR | |
| Kenenisa Bekele | 10000 m | — | — | — | — | 27:01.17 OR | |
| Tariku Bekele | 5000 m | 13:37.63 | 3 Q | — | — | 13:19.06 | 6 |
| Abreham Cherkos | 5000 m | 13:47.60 | 3 Q | — | — | 13:16.46 | 5 |
| Demma Daba | 1500 m | 3:37.78 | 8 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Roba Gari | 3000 m steeplechase | 8:28.27 | 8 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Haile Gebrselassie | 10000 m | — | — | — | — | 27:06.68 | 6 |
| Yacob Jarso | 3000 m steeplechase | 8:16.88 | 1 Q | — | — | 8:13.47 NR | 4 |
| Tsegay Kebede | Marathon | — | — | — | — | 2:10:00 | |
| Deresse Mekonnen | 1500 m | 3:36.22 | 5 Q | 3:37.85 | 6 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Deriba Merga | Marathon | — | — | — | — | 2:10:21 | 4 |
| Nahom Mesfin | 3000 m steeplechase | 8:23.82 | 5 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Sileshi Sihine | 10000 m | — | — | — | — | 27:02.77 | |
| Mulugeta Wendimu | 1500 m | 3:36.67 | 7 q | 3:40.16 | 10 | Did not advance | Did not advance |

### Women

| Athlete | Event | Heat | Heat | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Result | Rank | Result | Rank |
| Berhane Adere | Marathon | — | — | DNF | DNF |
| Zemzem Ahmed | 3000 m steeplechase | 9:25.63 | 4 Q | 9:17.85 NR | 7 |
| Meskerem Assefa | 1500 m | 4:10.04 | 10 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Sofia Assefa | 3000 m steeplechase | 9:47.02 | 8 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Mekdes Bekele | 3000 m steeplechase | 9:41.43 | 9 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Gelete Burka | 1500 m | 4:15.77 | 6 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Meseret Defar | 5000 m | 14:56.32 | 1 Q | 15:44.12 | |
| Ejegayehu Dibaba | 10000 m | — | — | 31:22.18 | 14 |
| Tirunesh Dibaba | 5000 m | 15:09.89 | 1 Q | 15:41.40 | |
| Tirunesh Dibaba | 10000 m | — | — | 29.54.66 OR | |
| Meselech Melkamu | 5000 m | 15:11.21 | 4 Q | 15:49.03 | 8 |
| Mestawet Tufa | 10000 m | — | — | DNF | DNF |
| Dire Tune | Marathon | — | — | 2:31:16 | 15 |
| Gete Wami | Marathon | — | — | DNF | DNF |

### Key

* Note–Ranks given for track events are within the athlete's heat only
* Q = Qualified for the next round
* q = Qualified for the next round as a fastest loser or, in field events, by position without achieving the qualifying target
* NR = National record
* N/A = Round not applicable for the event
* Bye = Athlete not required to compete in round