Slew of Season’s Bests
in Stuttgart
Posted February 3rd, 2008 at 12:45 PM by Bob Ramsak
Section: Nutrition, Drugs In Sports
There aren’t too many athletes who would describe the fourth fastest performance in history as “disappointing”. But Olympic 5000m champion Meseret Defar is not your typical athlete.
After crushing a solid 3000m field by more than 11 seconds at tonight’s Sparkassen Cup in front of a raucous packed house, clocking 8:27.93 in the process, the 25-year-old Ethiopian sounded almost apologetic after her performance on the same track where she set the world record of 8:23.72 one year ago.
“I came here for the record,” she said, “and I’m a little disappointed. I’m in good shape, so I don’t know what happened. Maybe after the Boston race –it was very hard in Boston– I am a little bit tired.” A week ago at the Reebok Boston Indoor Games, Defar chopped more than a dozen seconds from the previous world best over two miles, clocking 9:10.50.
She was on pace for the first 2000 meters, passing the first kilometer in 2:47.6 and the second in 5:38.79. Although she was clearly pulling away from Ejegayehu Dibaba, subsequent laps of around 34 and 35 seconds put the record out of reach. She regrouped over the final two circuits, closing with a sub 32-second final lap. Defar has now produced six of the ten fastest performances over the distance and while five women have dipped under 8:30 indoors, she is the only one to have done it twice.
Dibaba held on for second, clocking 8:39.08, about two-and-a-half seconds slower than her runner-up performance in Boston a week ago behind her younger sister Tirunesh. Sylvia Kibet of Kenya was a distant third in 8:54.18.
Defar’s dominating run was one of four world-leading performances in the middle and long distance events; overall, eight 2008 bests were produced and another one equalled on the fast Stuttgart track.
In the men’s 3000, it was Tariku Bekele who dominated the proceedings with an impressive 7:31.09 performance. It was a massive indoor PB for Bekele, barely 21, and not far from his outdoor best of 7:29.11. It was also a performance that moved him all the way up to the No. 4 spot all-time, just behind older brother Kenenisa (7:30.51).
Well back in second was compatriot Abraham Cherkos Feleke, just 18, who clocked 7:38.03 to hold off Kenyan Shadrack Korir (7:38.11).
There was an Ethiopian 1-2 in the men’s 1500m as well, producing the first world leader of the evening. In a spirited run, Deresse Mekkonen shadowed compatriot Mekkonen Gebremehdin for the initial 1200m. The latter made the first decisive move to take the race, but Mekkonen powered into the final bend and into the lead midway through the final turn, before reaching the line in 3:38.52.
The men’s 800 was billed as yet another showdown between Olympic champion Yuriy Borzakovskiy and world indoor champion Wilfred Bungei of Kenya. But at the moment, there isn’t anyone to match the form the 26-year-old Russian is displaying.
With the entire field choosing to ignore pacesetter John Litei, it was Bungei that was forced to lead, with Dmitriy Bogdanov close on his shoulder while Borzakovskiy ran comfortably in the middle of the pack. With Bungei leading at the bell, Borzakovskiy decided against employing his typical late race come-from-behind tactics. Instead, he powered past the Kenyan as they entered the backstretch and never looked back, cruising to a commanding 1:45.58 victory. Bungei held on for second with a season’s best 1:46.38, with Latvian Dmitrijs Milkevics overtaking Bogdanov for third in 1:46.67.
Maria Mutola began her farewell tour on an up note, but her win in the evening capping 800m wasn’t nearly as dominating as the others that came earlier. Briton Jenny Meadows, fifth at last year’s European Indoor Championships, ran a gutsy race near the front throughout before being overpowered by the seven-time world indoor champion, 2:02.44 to 2:02.96.
While Defar’s world record bid was the key attraction of the meet’s 22nd edition, it was the hurdling that captured the most attention. Cuban Dayron Robles moved into a tie as the second fastest ever in the 60m hurdles, clocking 7.36. Continuing her early season hot streak, Swede Suzanna Kallur followed with a blistering 7.72 performance, also moving up to No. 2 all-time, and just a scant .03 off of the world record set 18 years ago.
(c) Race Results Weekly 2008, all rights reserved. Used with permission.
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Tags: ejegayehu dibaba, Meseret Defar, Reebok Boston Indoor Games, Sparkassen Cup, Stuttgart
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The Final Sprint
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February 3rd, 2008 at 1:37 pm