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Lead Stories: Thursday, August 21, 2008

Dibaba Smashes 5000m
World Record in Oslo

Posted June 6th, 2008 at 10:00 PM by Bob Ramsak

Section: News & Results, Announcements, Track & Field

Tirunesh Dibaba made her first outing of the summer a memorable one after breaking the world record in the 5000m at the ExxonMobil Bislett Games in the Norwegian capital.

For the second straight year, the Oslo meet played host to a new women’s standard in the event. This time around, it was Dibaba smashing the record that her compatriot Meseret Defar smashed last year.

This is a very joyous day for me today,” said Dibaba after her stunning 14:11.15 performance which eclipsed Defar’s performance by more than five-and-a-half seconds. “I’ve been thinking about this for a long time and this is a very special day for me.”
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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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Best Track & Field City in the World?

Posted November 10th, 2007 at 8:30 AM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

The Track & Field off-season is a little rough on us trackies. At least we can console ourselves with the fact that the indoor season is just a couple of months away. We can also take comfort in knowing that the statistics for the current season are just sitting there, waiting to be analyzed. Middle-distance is my specialty, so I will be crunching the numbers for those event over the next few weeks.

I was curious to know what city in the world is the “best” city for watching a world-class middle-distance event. I’m sure the readers of The Final Sprint will also want to know about the long distance track events, too, so I have also included those in this analysis. I went to my favorite statistics site, alltime-athletics.com, for the facts.
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Sanya Richards named USATF Athlete of the Week

Posted September 19th, 2007 at 3:00 PM by Martha Jones

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Sanya Richards has been named USA Track & Field’s Athlete of the Week after winning the women’s 400 meters Sunday at the 2007 ISTAF Meeting in Berlin, Germany to earn her second consecutive share of the Golden League Jackpot.

The 2006 IAAF Athlete of the Year, Richards earned half of the million-dollar jackpot by going undefeated in the women’s 400 in Golden League competition. In the last meet of the series, she streaked to victory in the women’s 400m in a world-leading 49.27 seconds. Richards’ other Golden League wins came in Oslo June 15, Paris July 6, Rome July 13, Zurich September 7 and Brussels last Friday.
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Lagat looking for strong Osaka tune-up in London

Posted August 3rd, 2007 at 8:50 AM by Bob Ramsak

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

With just over three weeks remaining before the start of the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Osaka, American 1500m record holder Bernard Lagat will be looking for one last high profile tune-up tomorrow night at the Norwich Union London Grand Prix in the British capital.

Lagat, who won the 5000m and finished third in the 1500 at the U.S. championships in late June, will be aiming for his first solid outing over the shorter distance since his runner-up finish in the Prefontaine Classic mile on June 10. In his most recent 1500m races, Lagat was a distant seventh at the Golden League meet in Paris on July 6, and a well-beaten third at the Norwich Union International on July 15.

Alan Webb, who’s been on a tear over the past month after his world-leading 3:30.54 victory in Paris, his U.S. record in the mile and a sub-1:44 career best in the 800 last week in Heusden, Belgium, has opted out of the London race to nurse a sore hamstring.
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Men’s 1500 the key attraction as IAAF Golden League resumes in Paris

Posted July 6th, 2007 at 11:17 AM by Bob Ramsak

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

For the crowd of 65,000 that is expected to turn out for tonight’s Meeting Gaz de France, one event will stand head and shoulders above the rest –the men’s 1500, which features French star Mehdi Baala squaring off against American Bernard Lagat.

Baala, the world leader after his solo 3:31.05 in Strasbourg last week, apparently doesn’t mind the pressure. In fact, he added to it yesterday when declaring that he’ll be chasing his own national record of 3:28.98 set in 2003.

Lagat, who will be making his ninth straight appearance here, is pleased that the spotlight will be focused elsewhere.
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Ostrava Preview: Defar, Haile, Isinbayeva and more

Posted June 26th, 2007 at 5:00 AM by Bob Ramsak

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

With an impressive slate of Olympic, World and continental champions and a handful of World record assaults, the IAAF World Athletics Tour 2007 resumes with a bang on Wednesday at the 46th edition of the Golden Spike in Ostrava.

DEFAR LOOKING FOR FAST OSLO FOLLOW-UP

While organiZers have again lured a strong collection of talent to this eastern Czech city, one of the most keenly observed will Olympic 5000m champion Meseret Defar. Hot on the heels of her staggering 14:16.63 World record in Oslo 10 days ago, Defar returns to action to try and take that 5000m mark down even further.

After breaking her own mark by almost eight seconds, the 23-year-old Ethiopian said in a quite straightforward fashion in Oslo that there’s no reason not to try again in Ostrava. Besides compatriots Gelete Burka and Meselech Melkamu, organizers have also brought in Russian Olga Komyagina to set the pace, just as she did in that unforgettable run in Oslo.
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14:16.63 World Record for Defar in Oslo

Posted June 16th, 2007 at 9:10 AM by Bob Ramsak

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Running in still and near perfect conditions, Meseret Defar smashed the world record in the 5000 meters to highlight the ExxonMobil Bislett Games in Oslo.

“No, I had no doubts,” the reigning Olympic champion said after knocking nearly eight seconds from her own world mark with a phenomenal 14:16.63 run.

“I didn’t think I would break the record by such a big margin, but I was aiming under 14:20. So I think I did a good job.”

Her record-breaking margin was the largest in the event in more than two decades, dating back to the Zola Budd-Ingrid Kristiansen rivalry when the record was slashed by more than 10 seconds on a pair of occasions.
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Defar Smashes 5000m World Record in Oslo

Posted June 15th, 2007 at 4:38 PM by Bob Ramsak

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Ethiopian Meseret Defar broke the world record in the 5000 meters, clocking 14:16.63 at the ExxonMobil Bislett Games in Oslo this evening.

The 23-year-old, the reigning Olympic champion in the event, shattered her own mark of 14:24.53 set last year at the Reebok Grand Prix in New York.

Paced through 2200 meters by Olga Komyagina, Defar was shadowed briefly by Kenyan Vivian Cheruiyot before gradually breaking away over the final four laps. Cheruiyot hung on to finish second in 14:22.51, also under the previous record.
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Podcast 35: Interview with running pioneer Grete Waitz

Posted April 6th, 2007 at 1:27 PM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics, Special Features, Interviews, Podcasts

Today’s podcast features a very special interview with Grete Waitz; the legendary Norwegian runner who, among her plethora of accomplishments, won a record nine New York City Marathons between 1978 and 1988, a silver medal in the first Olympic women’s marathon, five World XC titles and broke the world marathon record nine times.

Grete, a woman of incredible talent, passion, modesty and grace, has also been instrumental, through both her athletic achievements and tireless advocacy, in promoting equality for female athletes. In the interview Grete speaks about how things have changed since she first began running; describing the lack of opportunities in the 1970’s, the first Olympic women’s marathon in 1984, and the vast array of athletic opportunities available to women in today’s society.

Grete talks about her transformation into a marathon runner; the story behind her historic, debut victory at the 1978 NY Marathon and her special bond with Fred Lebow, the NYRR and people of NYC.

She also explains that running alongside Fred - her dear friend and the race’s legendary co-founder – as he completed the 1992 NY Marathon while undergoing treatment for the cancer that would ultimately take his life – was a very special experience; one that makes up for the 10th victory that Fred always wanted her to win.

Download the podcast to hear Grete discuss these topics, her own battle with cancer, being inspired by Lance Armstrong, and how Fred’s legacy continues to thrive through the NYRR’s efforts in America, around the world and via the NYRR Foundation.

Listen In
[PLAY] (To Download: Right click and select “save as”)

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Host: Adam Jacobs
Guest: Grete Waitz
Producer: Greg Cherniet
Music: Ryan Ahlwardt & Darnell Perkins
File size: 12.6 MB
Length: 00:18:26

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