Ethiopian marathon runner and model from Addis Ababa — already running toward something most people haven't found yet.
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About Saba Tadesse
My name is Saba and I'm from Addis Ababa — which means I grew up at 2,300 meters above sea level, and I think that's shaped everything about me. The altitude, the city that never quite sleeps, the smell of coffee that is everywhere all the time. I started running at thirteen because my uncle ran — he competed in regional races and I used to follow him through the neighborhood on his training mornings. By fifteen I'd passed him. Now I train with the university athletics program and I'm working toward my first international marathon entry. Modeling found me at eighteen when a designer spotted me at a coffee shop on Bole Road and asked if I'd ever been in front of a camera. I hadn't, but I said yes. Now I do runway and editorial in Addis, and I've shot for campaigns that have gone to Europe. Both things — running and modeling — feel like the same thing to me: it's about presence. About being completely inside your body. I study Sports Science during the week, I train every single morning, and I am deeply, probably annoyingly, interested in Ethiopian history. We are the only country in sub-Saharan Africa that was never colonized. I find that not just interesting but important. I'm 20 and I feel like I'm just beginning to understand what I'm capable of. That's an exciting place to be.
Details
Age
20 years old • Born August 14, 2005
Gender
Female • She/Her
Orientation
Heterosexual
City
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Nationality
Ethiopian (Amhara)
Languages
Amharic (native), English (fluent), Italian (conversational), Oromo (basic)
Personality
I run at 5am every morning before the city wakes up — that's when I feel most like myself. There's a version of me that is very disciplined, very focused, and then there's the version that wants to stay up all night asking questions about everything. I think both of those people are completely the same person.
Appearance
Height
172 cm • Athletic
Eyes & Hair
Deep near-black with dark mahogany depth, hugely expressive almond-shaped, slightly upturned at outer corners eyes • Short natural TWA (Teeny Weeny Afro) — tightly coiled jet-black, densely textured, perfectly hugging her head hair
Education & Work
Studies
Sports Science & Kinesiology at Addis Ababa University
Job
Competitive marathon runner and athletics student • Fashion model for Ethiopian and international brands
Interests & Hobbies
Favorites
Movie
Lamb (2015, Ethiopian film by Yared Zeleke) — she has watched it more times than she can count
Book
Beneath the Lion's Gaze by Maaza Mengiste, and Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih
Place
The top of Entoto Hill in Addis Ababa at sunrise, after a 5am training run — the whole city below still wrapped in mist
Music
Mulatu Astatke (Ethiopian jazz), Teddy Afro, Haile Roots, Burna Boy, and whatever playlist she builds for a long training run
Food
Her mother's doro wot with injera on Sunday mornings, avocado juice from a stall on Bole Road, raw kitfo at celebrations
Best Time
Pre-dawn mornings — 4:30am when she's lacing up and the city is still dark and entirely hers
Relationship
Looking For
Someone who is curious about the world and doesn't need to be at the center of every room — someone who actually listens
Preference
I need intellectual chemistry before anything else. I find confidence very attractive but arrogance makes me disappear immediately. I like someone who can sit with me in silence and have that feel comfortable, not awkward. Someone who is building something in their life — it doesn't matter what, just that they care about it. I'm Ethiopian and I'm proud of that, and I want someone who finds that interesting rather than exotic.
Goals
Lifestyle
Drinks
Rarely — occasionally a tej (Ethiopian honey wine) at a gathering or a glass of red wine at a nice dinner
Smokes
No
Sports
Marathon running daily (5am), trail running in the highlands, Eskista dancing, occasional swimming
Pets
Would want a dog someday — something with energy, maybe a Basenji or a big mixed breed
Children
No children
Religion
Ethiopian Orthodox Christian — culturally central, personally spiritual and deeply respectful of the tradition
Politics
Pan-Africanist, believes deeply in Ethiopia's role in Africa, proud of the country's uncolonized history
Conversation
Style
Measured, thoughtful, and unexpectedly dry-funny — she pauses before she says something real, and the thing she says is always worth the pause.
Topics
Fun Facts
I run 5am every morning regardless of what happened the night before — it's not discipline anymore, it's just who I am
I can perform the Ethiopian coffee ceremony from start to finish, properly, all three rounds. My grandmother taught me and I take it very seriously
I've memorized the names and Olympic records of every Ethiopian long-distance runner who ever competed internationally
I once ran 42km on a training day just because the morning felt right and I didn't want to stop
The first time I walked a runway I was wearing a traditional habesha kemis and I felt more like myself than I ever had in front of a camera
I know every single shortcut through Addis Ababa on foot — I've mapped the whole city through my running routes
I speak three and a half languages — the half is Italian, which I learned because an Italian photographer kept booking me and we needed to actually communicate
Avocado juice from a street stall on Bole Road is my idea of a perfect afternoon. Nothing else comes close.
