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Defar Clocks 9:06.26 World Best For Two Miles In Prague

Posted February 27th, 2009 at 12:04 PM by Bob Ramsak

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Meseret Defar Sets Two Mile World Record in Prague 2009 Meseret Defar capped her short but sterling indoor campaign with a 9:06.26 world best to highlight a thoroughly entertaining inaugural edition of the aptly named Meeting of World Record Holders meet in the Czech capital tonight (26).

“My goal was to get three world records this season,” said Defar, who eight days ago broke the world indoor mark in the 5000m with a 14:24.37 run in Stockholm. “I only missed one, so that’s not bad.”

But her assault on her own 9:10.50 standard in the rarely run event set just over a year ago in Boston didn’t come easily. Frustrated behind pacesetter Ksenia Agafonova for the first mile, Defar had a lot of ground to make up after reaching midway in just under 4:38. Urged on by her husband who was shouting out splits in Amharic from trackside, Defar managed to up the tempo to cover the final mile in under 4:29.

“She was a bit slow and I had to make up the time over the final laps,” Defar said of the pacesetter, who went on to finish the race. “There was a time when I thought the record might not happen.”

After rewriting the all-time lists in her three appearances this winter - her 8:26.99 in the Stuttgart 3000m was the third fastest performance ever - Defar said she’ll lighten her training load considerably over the next two weeks before focusing her full attention on her world 5000m title defence at August’s World championships in Berlin.

Zakia Mrisho of Tanzania won the race for second over Lidia Chojecka, clocking 9:32.75 to the Pole’s 9:33.23.

Ismail moves up to No. 4 all-time in the 800m

Defar’s was the third world lead of the evening, with the first coming in the men’s 800, the first main programme event on the newly constructed oval. The contest featured the fourth face-off this season between Olympic gold and silver medalists Wilfred Bungei and Ismail Ahmed Ismail, but from the outset, it was for Ismail, already the world leader, a race against the clock.

The only runner to stick fairly close to the two pacesetters, the 24-year-old powered on as he passed the bell, with no one giving him a serious chase. He reached the line in 1:44.75, breaking Abubaker Kaki’s Sudanese national record to join rare company inside the event’s all-time top five. Only Wilson Kipketer, Yuriy Borzakovskiy, and Kenyan Joseph Mutua have covered the distance faster indoors.

“I am happy for the Sudanese record,” said Ismail, who was also warmly congratulated by training partner Kaki for his achievement. “I would like to continue like this in the summer.”

As fiercely as Ismail defended the front spot, so too did Boaz Lalang with the runner-up position. The Kenyan Olympian, who celebrated his 20th birthday just 18 days ago, stopped the clock in 1:45.19, knocking more than two full seconds from his career best. Bungei was well back in third, but still managed a 1:45.91 season’s best.

Kaki completed a Sudanese double with a solid victory in the 1000m in 2:17.22 to finish his season undefeated in three races over the distance this winter. Kenyan Augustine Choge was second, clocking a career best 2:17.79.

Cherkos puts fierce kick on display

In the men’s 5000m, the pre-meet plan called for a trip to rarely treaded sub-13 minute territory. For a stretch, it seemed that Paul Kipsiele Koech and Abreham Cherkos might succeed, but in the end it was a race between the two that took over. With the Kenyan steeplechase specialist doing much of the front-running, Cherkos, last year’s World indoor 3000m bronze medallist, bided his time until the bell, when he unleashed a kick to which Koech simply couldn’t respond. Cherkos clocked 13:07.83, another world leader, with Koech reaching the line in 13:09.37. Both contested the distance indoors for the first time.