p>MONTE CARLOMonaco Haile Gebrselassie
(ETH) recorded one of Athletics’ most outstanding
performances with his record-breaking 5000m run in Stockholm on
Thursday evening. Ten years ago - on 22 July 1987, in Rome -
another outstanding performer, Saïd Aouita (MAR) was the first
to go below the 13 minute mark in the 5000m outdoors, on a tartan
track in the Roman Olympic stadium. But there is a great
difference between achieving that time on a 400m track and
running 12:59.04 on a 200m track as Gebrselassie did in
Stockholm. The tighter bends of the short track limit mechanical
effectiveness considerably.
Haile Gebrselassie, who holds the world outdoors record for the 5000m with his mark of 12:44.39, has shown that he is capable of reducing considerably the record for the event. The race for the new record will be particularly exciting as the formidable Ethiopian will be running against young Kenyan talent Daniel Komen and Salah Hissou of Morocco as well as against the clock.
Hissou is likely to be Haile Gebrselassie’s strongest threat in the 3000m in the forthcoming World Indoor Championships in Paris (7-9 March). The Ethiopian is on top physical and psychological form and ready to take the title and further improve the world record time of 7:30.72 he set last year.
ENDS Downloadable .PDF version of the original Press Release