Roza Dereje Bekele is an Ethiopian marathon runner born on 9 May 1997. She emerged on the international road racing scene in 2016 with a victory at the Shanghai Marathon, returning the following year to defend her title in a then personal best of 2:22:43. Her breakthrough came at the 2018 Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon, where she won in 2:19:17 and announced herself as one of the fastest young marathoners in the world.
Dereje cemented her status among the global elite at the 2019 Valencia Marathon, winning in 2:18:30 to set a course record and clock what was then the eighth fastest marathon in history. The performance ranked her among the top Ethiopian women in the event and earned her a place on the Ethiopian team for the delayed Tokyo Olympics.
At the Tokyo 2020 Olympic marathon, contested in Sapporo in August 2021, Dereje finished fourth in 2:28:38, narrowly missing a medal in brutal heat and humidity. After a multi year absence from competition, she returned in 2024 with a tune up at the Antrim Coast Half Marathon before lining up at the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon, signaling the next chapter of a career built on patient, front running aggression and a 2:18 ceiling that few women in history have ever broken.