Dejene Yirdaw (born 21 August 1978 in Tulu Bolo) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who specialises in the marathon.

[2] He competed in the United States for the first time the following year and his run of 2:14:20 was enough for second place behind Michael Aish at the Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon.

[3] The Kosice Peace Marathon was the venue for his third outing over the distance that October, and he seized control of the race, outrunning even the official pacemaker (David Makori).

Finishing as the runner-up with a time of 2:08:30, he had beaten pre-race favourites Jason Mbote and Paul Biwott by a margin of two minutes.

[8] At the Gyeongju International Marathon he completed his second sub-2:10 clocking to win the race in 2:09:13, holding off a challenge from Moroccan runner Abdellah Falil.