Sembo Almayew

Sembo Almayew Welteji (born 24 January 2005) is an Ethiopian track and field athlete. She was a silver medalist at the 2022 World Athletics U20 Championships in the women's 3000 metres steeplechase.^[1]

Sembo Almayew

Sembo Almayew in 2023
Personal information
Full name	Sembo Almayew Welteji
Nationality	Ethiopian
Born	(2005-01-24) January 24, 2005 (age 20) Midakegn, Oromia, Ethiopia
Sport
Country	Ethiopia
Sport	Athletics
Event	3000 metres steeplechase
Achievements and titles
Personal bests	3000 metres: 8:35.04 (Val-de-Reuil 2023) 3000 m st: 8:59.90 (Eugene 2025)
Medal record Women's athletics Representing  Ethiopia World U20 Championships 2024 Lima 3000 m st. 2022 Cali 3000 m st.

Career

2022

Almayew set new world under-18 best times for the 3000m steeplechase in 2022. She beat the previous U18 best of 9:24.73, set by Kenya's Celliphine Chespol in 2016, when she clocked a 9:18.98 at the FBK Games, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting, in Hengelo.^[2]

Almayew then ran 9:09.19 to finish second at the Diamond League meeting in Paris in June 2022 in the 3000m steeplechase to lower her personal best and the world under-18 best time. Competing at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon she ran 9:21.10 to finish fifth in her heat.^[3]

She was a silver medalist behind Faith Cherotich at the 2022 World Athletics U20 Championships in the Women's 3000 metres steeplechase.^[4]

2023

Almayew ran 9:05.83 to set a new personal best and national under-20 record at the Doha meeting of the Diamond League in May 2023, finishing second behind Kenyan Beatrice Chepkoech.^[5][6] The following month, Almayew set a new personal best and meeting record time of 9:00.71 to win the 3000 m steeplechase at the Diamond League meeting in Florence on 2 June 2023.^[7]

Competing in the 3000m steeplechase at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, she qualified for the final, finishing second in her heat. In the final, she finished in thirteenth place.^[8]

2024

She finished in fifth place at the 2024 Summer Olympics in the Women's 3000 metres steeplechase.^[9] In August 2024, she won gold at the 2024 World Athletics U20 Championships in the 3000 metres steeplechase, setting a new championship record time of 9:12.71.^[10] She was named Women’s Rising Star at the World Athletics Awards in December 2024.^[11]

2025

She finished third in the 3000m steeplechase in May 2025 at the 2025 Doha Diamond League.^[12] In June 2025, she ran a time of 9:01.22 to finish third at the 2025 Meeting de Paris.^[13] She ran a personal best 8:59.90 at the 2025 Prefontaine Classic on 5 July.^[14] In July 2025, she was provisionally named for the Ethiopian team for the 3000 metres steeplechase at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan.^[15]