Lamecha Girma hails from Asella, Ethiopia. He joined the Tirunesh Dibaba Youth Academy and initially trained for 1500m races. His favorite dishes are fish and pasta, while his top country to visit is France. Girma has five brothers and seven sisters, with his success inspiring two of his brothers to join him in Addis Ababa to train. He placed 1st in the steeplechase during his first competition outside of Africa in order to qualify for the World Championships in Doha, were he went on to win Silver.