They say this Ethiopian runner competing at the World Under-20 Championships in Finland is 16 years old..huh?

Girmawit Gebrzihair is reportedly a 16-year-old Ethiopian runner competing at the World Under-20 Championships in Tampere, Finland.

She recently won the bronze medal after coming third-place in the 5,000m race at the ongoing competition.

However, Girmawit who listed her birth date, November 21, 2001, is being ridiculed online by social media users including a Spanish athlete, Oscar Husillos who says she looks too old to be competing in an under-20 competition.

He retweeted a picture of Gebrzihair, adding in Spanish: 'Her children and grandchildren are in the stands to see her run in the World U20 Championships.

Another commented: '16? That woman has lived through the American Civil War, two world wars and saw Pele's Brazil lift the 1970 World Cup.'

Another said: 'That's Benjamin Button's cousin.' 

And another added: 'Is there no other way of controlling these things apart from looking at a passport? It is hard to believe.'

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) have yet to comment