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.[3]
Career
Samuel Tefera made his first major appearance in 2017, when the then-17-year-old represented Ethiopia in the 1500 metres at the World Championships in London, not advancing from the heats.[4]
In February 2019, still 19, Tefera set a world indoor record in his specialty distance at the 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.[6] Tefera's record was bettered in 2022 by Jakob Ingebrigtsen.
Tefera represented Ethiopia at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where he had an injury problem again and was eliminated in the heats of the men's 1500 metres.[8][7] Ingebrigtsen became the event winner.