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Lead Stories: Friday, November 21, 2008

Defar, Gay Named World Athletes of the Year

Posted November 26th, 2007 at 2:00 PM by Bob Ramsak

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Track & Field

Meseret Defar and sprinter Tyson Gay were named the World Athletes of the Year for 2007 at the World Athletics Gala held in Monte Carlo last night.

Defar, 24, shattered her won world record in the 5000 meters, running 14:16.63 in Oslo in June, breaking her own previous standard by more than eight seconds. The reigning Olympic 50000 champion, Defar also won the event at the world championships and twice lowered the world best for 2 miles. She also set a world record indoors in the 3000, running 8:23.72 in Stuttgart in February.

“I don’t have word to describe how happy I am,” said Defar, who dedicated the award to women athletes in Ethiopia. Haile Gebrselassie and Kenenisa Bekele have earned the honor in the past, but Defar became the first Ethiopian to win the world governing body’s annual award.

Gay, 25, won three gold medals at the IAAF World Championships in Osaka last August, sweeping the 100 and 200 metres and running the third leg on the victorious 4×100m relay. In the 100, Gay clocked 9.85, relegating world record holder Asafa Powell of Jamaica to third. In the 200, he clocked 19.76, taking down Michael Johnson’s meet record. He was just the fourth athlete to collect three gold medals at a single world championships.
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Gebrselassie, Defar Short-Listed for World Athletes of the Year

Posted November 16th, 2007 at 7:00 AM by Bob Ramsak

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Track & Field

Haile Gebrselassie and Meseret Defar are among the three men’s and women’s finalist for World Athlete of the Year, the IAAF announced last week.

The 34-year-old Gebrselassie lowered the world record in the marathon to 2:04:26, pending ratification, at the real,-Berlin Marathon in September, and earlier in the year, set world records for the one hour run on the track, and for 20,000m en route.

Defar, 23, produced yet another astonishing season. After a world record indoors over 3000m, the Ethiopian broke her own world record in the 5000m at the Golden League kick-off in Oslo in June, won the world title in the 5000m in August, and capped her season with a world best for 2 miles in Brussels.
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