The final meters are always exciting when Meseret Defar and Tirunesh Dibaba (leading) race each other. © www.photorun.net
In part two of our World Championship preview, we take a look at the women’s distance events on the track.
The 5,000-meter and 10,000m events are shaping up to be an Ethiopian duel between two of some of the best women distance runners in history: Tirunesh Dibaba and Meseret Defar. Another Ethiopian, Meselech Melkamu, will also be in the mix. Not to be forgotten, are the Kenyans, who will be trying their best to prevent an Ethiopian trifecta in both events.
10,000m: Dibaba will go into the 25-lap event as the defending champion. Thanks to her victory in Osaka in 2007, the Ethiopian team will field four runners since all returning world champions receive automatic qualification. Though she is the expected favorite, she hasn’t run a 10,000m this year due to injury. Twenty-four-year-old Meselech Melkamu has the strongest recent performance, running the second-fastest 10,000m of all time (29:53.80 minutes) which was a new African record. However, Melkamu has yet to win a track medal at either the World Championships or the Olympic Games. That could change in Berlin. Dibaba, who aims to win a third consecutive world title at this distance in Berlin, will have to overcome her long-time rival, Meseret Defar in the 10,000m. In recent years, Defar has concentrated on the 5,000m. But this season, the 25-year-old improved her 10,000m best to 29:59.20—the fifth-fastest performance in history—which she ran in extremely unfavorable weather conditions in Birmingham. Ayalew Yimer is the fourth Ethiopian who will start. Her qualifying time of 30:11.87 puts her fourth in the world rankings at the 10,000m this year. This kind of incredible Ethiopian talent will make it tough for the Kenyan women in Berlin. Their fastest runner is Florence Kiplagat who has made improvements this year, qualifying with an impressive 30:11.53. A more realistic threat to the Ethiopian powerhouse could be the Olympic runner-up, Elvan Abeylegesse of Turkey. Liliya Shobukhova (Russia) and Shalane Flanagan (USA) could also be factors in the race.
The 10,000m final is on Saturday, August 15.
5,000m: Meseret Defar returns as the defending champion which means Ethiopia can once again start four runners. Like the 10,000m, Defar’s strongest challenger is Tirunesh Dibaba. Dibaba was the 2008 Olympic champion and the fastest in the world this year (14:33.65). At the World Championships two years ago, she was forced to pull out because of illness. Meselech Melkamu, who was eighth in the Olympics a year ago, should also run the race, although her 5,000m qualifying time is not as strong as her 10,000m mark. This season, none of the contenders have been able to run under 14:30 minutes. Nonetheless, the medals are most likely going to East Africans. Unlike the 10,000m, the Kenyans stand a better chance against the Ethiopian squad in the 5,000m. Their strongest runner is Vivian Cheruiyot who won a silver medal in the 2007 World Championships, placing second to Defar. Olympic silver medalist in the 5,000m, Elvan Abeylegesse, is also likely to play a role in this race.
The 5,000m heats are on Wednesday, August 19 with the final scheduled for Saturday, August 22.
3,000m steeplechase: Russian steeplechase Olympic champion and world-record holder Gulnara Galkina is the clear favorite in this race. She was the first woman to run under 9 minutes in this event (8:58.81) and hasn’t been beaten at this distance for two years. The woman who beat her was fellow Russian and 2008 Olympic bronze medalist, Yekaterina Volkova, who will also toe the line in Berlin. While Kenya’s Olympic runner-up, Eunice Jepkorir, will miss the World Championships, her compatriot, the world junior record holder, Ruth Bisibori, is likely to be the leading African contender. There are also two other runners who stand a chance to take on the Russians: The first is American Jenny Barringer who won the U.S. Trials and has clocked a sub 4-minute 1500m earlier this year. The second non-African favorite is the Spaniard, Marta Dominguez, who has whittled her steeplechase PR down to 9:09.39—putting her slightly ahead of Galkina in the world rankings for the year.
The 3,000m steeplechase heats are on Saturday, August 15 with the final scheduled for Monday, August 17.
