[5][6][7] Among her competitions representing Azerbaijan was a sixth-place finish at the 2009 Delhi Half Marathon, at which she much improved her time for the distance by crossing the line in 1:08:45 (an Azerbaijani record).

[15] Although she was the pre-race favourite at the Los Angeles Marathon in March, she was defeated by both Bezunesh Deba and Amy Hastings and came third with a comparatively slow time of 2:30:25 hours.

[21] At the 2012 Dubai Marathon she ran a personal best time of 2:19:52 hours for third place, making her the second fastest Ethiopian woman after the winner Aselefech Mergia.

The win was announced 30 January 2015, as Rita Jeptoo was suspended retroactively for an EPO positive drug test to 25 September 2014, which would have made her ineligible for the Chicago Marathon that she finished first.

She was the heavy favourite for the Olympic marathon title but ended up winning bronze behind Jemima Sumgong and Eunice Kirwa, both Kenyan-born athletes.