By Sabrina Yohannes, Published: September 2012 issue
Beijing double Olympic champion Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia has found a few things to surprise her recently. Walking through New York City’s Times Square in June, she came across a sight that forced her to do a double take. A man — known locally as the Naked Cowboy — was strumming a guitar and posing for photographs clothed in nothing but his underwear, cowboy boots and a cowboy hat. “I was shocked,” said Dibaba afterwards with a laugh. “In the city squares, there are many surprising things.”
While preparing to defend her 5,000m and 10,000m Olympic titles in London, Dibaba also found herself gaining a new perspective on her own achievements, especially after injury caused her to miss most of 2011 and a good chunk of 2010.