With a 57.6 second last lap, Meseret Defar continued the evening’s string of upsets with her victory over World champion Tirunesh Dibaba in the 5000m. Cruising past Dibaba with 150 metres to go, the 21-year-old Defar, the reigning Olympic champion and runner-up in Helsinki last month, ran to a commanding 14:45.87 win.
As expected, the race was an entirely Ethiopian affair, with Dibaba, Defar and Berhane Adere taking complete command of the race early on. With Dibaba, who this year claimed double victories at both the World Cross Country Championships and in Helsinki, leading, the trio pulled away from the field with three laps to go.
Dibaba led at the bell, but Defar, the year’s world leader after her African record 14:28.98 victory in Brussels, was just biding her time waiting to strike. When she did, Dibaba couldn’t respond, but still managed to hold on to second (14:46.84), less than a tenth of a second ahead of the fast-closing Adere (14:46.91).
Kenyans Ines Chenonge (14:54.43 – PB) and Lucy Wangui (15:00.20) led the best of the rest, finishing fourth and fifth.
BR
