Meselech Melkamu (front, right), seen here at the World Cross-Country Championships this year, ran a sensational 10,000m in Utrecht on Sunday. © www.photorun.net
Meselech Melkamu of Ethiopia became the second-fastest female 10,000-meter runner of all time on Sunday evening. Competing in Utrecht, Holland, Melkamu ran a 29:54.66 minutes—a new African record. Her incredible time was nearly a second better than the record formerly held by last year’s Olympic champion, fellow Ethiopian Tirunesh Dibaba.
Melkamu’s previous 10,000m best was 31:04.93. In Beijing last summer, she ran the 5,000m and finished eighth. At the World Cross-Country Championships, she finished third on four occasions. She also took a silver medal at the 2008 World Indoor Championships in Valencia in the 3,000m. That same year, she won the African 5,000m title.
Kenya’s Florence Kiplagat finished second in the race. Her time, 30:11.53, was a new national record. Third place went to Wude Ayelew of Ethiopia in 30:11.87.
The world record for the women’s 10,000m is 29:31.78. It was set by Wang Junxia of China in Beijing in1993.
Bekele Back in Action
World record holder and Olympic champion Kenenisa Bekele has made a big comeback. At the kickoff of the AF Golden League in Berlin on Sunday the Ethiopian won the 5,000m, running a blistering 13:00.76. Coincidentally, Sunday was Bekele’s 27th birthday.
Bekele’s victory puts him in the hunt for a share of the million-dollar jackpot that is awarded to athletes who win their respective event at each of the six AF Golden League meets.
In front of 64,000 spectators, Bekele won the race in the final straight of the last lap using his trademark kick to outsprint his four Kenyan opponents. Abraham Chebii finished second in 13:01.08, Micah Kogo was third in 13:01.30, and Vincent Chepkok finished fourth in 13:01.35.
This was Bekele’s first victory since he won a 3,000m race in England last August. An aggravating stress fracture suffered during a 15-kilometer race in the Netherlands last November had kept him sidelined until Sunday.
In the men’s 1,500m event, victory went to the Kenyan, Augustine Choge, with a world best this year: 3:29.47. Finishing second was fellow Kenyan Haron Keitany (3:30.20). William Biwott, also from Kenya, finished third in 3:32.34. Choge’s win took him to number 13 on the world all-time list for the event. He missed the ISTAF meeting record, set by Said Aouita 24 years ago, by a mere hundredth-of-a-second.
Tune Goes for Rare Record
Dire Tune of Ethiopia came very close to breaking the 20,000m record in Ostrava in the Czech Republic on Wednesday.
The record for this rarely run event is held by Tegla Loroupe of Kenya. The 24-year-old Tune, who finished second in the Boston Marathon in April, ran 1:05:35.3 hours which is the second-fastest time ever. She was only nine seconds outside Tegla Loroupe’s time of 1:05:26.6, set nine years ago at Borgholzhausen, Germany.
Last year in Ostrava, Tune set a world record for the hour, covering 18,517 meters. She was also aiming to improve this mark on Wednesday during the race but she finished 215 meters short, covering a total of 18,302 meters.
Leah Malot of Kenya finished second in 1:10:35.0. Her compatriot Salina Jebet placed third in 1:17:08.3.
Just three days after her highly impressive 10,000m race in Utrecht, Meselech Melkamu also set a world leading mark for 5,000m. Sharing the pace with the Kenyan Linet Masai, the Ethiopian dictated tactics from the start. Melkamu won in 14:34.17, besting Masai, who at the age of only19 clocked 14:34.36. Vivian Cheruiyot, also from Kenya, (14:38.26) was third. “That was a very tough race for me, coming as it did three days after the 10,000 meters and I’m really tired now. I had trained very well for this and was really well prepared,” Melkamu said afterwards.
