Defar Tops the Bill in Stuttgart on Saturday
Posted February 1st, 2008 at 5:45 PM by Bob Ramsak
Section: News & Results, Track & Field
One year ago, Meseret Defar came to Stuttgart’s Schleyer-Halle to make amends for a seasonal debut which didn’t quite reach her own expectations. Unexpectedly pushed to the finish, she left Stuttgart as the world record holder in the 3000m after a stunning 8:23.72 performance.
On Saturday night the two-time world indoor champion over the distance returns for the Sparkassen Cup’s 22nd edition, this time on the heels of a new world best over two miles. While Defar hasn’t publicly promised a further revision of her standard, her 9:10.50 two mile performance in Boston last weekend indicates a challenge is a distinct possibility.
Last year, she was chased to the line by fellow Ethiopian Meselech Melkamu, who finished just .02 seconds behind in her first ever indoor apperance. Melkamu isn’t in the race this year, nor are any considerable challengers. The closest on paper is Kenyan Sylvia Kibet, fourth in the world championships 5000m last August and second at the World Athletics Final in her last visit to Stuttgart.
For three of the past five years, the Sparkassen Cup has been the world’s finest all-around indoor meet. Solid fields in all events are par for the course in Stuttgart, with this year’s no exception.
Unlike the women’s contest, the men’s 5000 promises to be quite competitive, with Ethiopians Sileshi Sihine and Tariku Bekele topping the bill. Kenyans Shadrack Korir and Abraham Chebii, along with crowd pleaser Jan Fitschen, the European 10,000m champion, are in the field as well.
But perhaps the most competitive event on the program will be the men’s 800, pitting Olympic champion Yuriy Borzakovskiy against world indoor champion Wilfred Bungei. Last Sunday in Moscow, Borzakovskiy kicked to a world-leading 1:46.78, well ahead of Bungei’s 1:47.52 for second. Ugandan Abraham Chepkirwok, who produced a notable breakthrough season last year, and Dmitrijs Milkevics of Latvia, could also be factors.
The women’s contest is perhaps most notable for the presence of seven-time world indoor champion Maria Mutola, who embarks on her final indoor season. Her chief opposition looks to be Ukraine’s Tetyana Petlyuk and Briton Jenny Meadows, last weekend’s winner in Glasgow. Wanting to leave her mark, Mutola may be aiming for the 1:58.78 meet record set my Ludmila Formanova in 1999.
(c) 2008 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Used with permission.
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Tags: meselech melkamu, meseret defarm stuttgart, schleyer halle, Sparkassen Cup, sylvia kibet
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