Genzebe won the junior women's title at both the 2008 and 2009 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and finished fifth in the same event in 2007. Genzebe became the second junior woman ever to win two junior cross country championships in a row. She also competed in IAAF Golden League meetings, including the Reebok Grand Prix and the Oslo Bislett Games. At the 2008 Bislett Games she recorded a personal best time of 15:02.41 in the 5000 metres, during the same race where her sister Tirunesh set a new world record. She did the same a year later in the same race, improving her personal best by more than five seconds.