Tirunesh Dibaba Leads 5k field at Nike Pre, release, note by Larry Eder

Tirunesh Dibaba, Rbk Boston Indoor 2010, photo by PhotoRun.net.

Tirunesh Dibaba stunned the world, when at the age of 18, she defeated the best
women distance runners in the world, winning the World Champs 5,000 meters, way back in
2003 in St. Denis, France. Dibaba has not stopped her drive to become the best women
distance runner in the world. On Saturday, Dibaba will be running the 5,000 meters, hoping
to run, very, very fast. We look forward to her effort!

WORLD RECORD HOLDER DIBABA LEADS 5K AT PRE

          Eugene, Oregon–Tirunesh Dibaba is sometimes called the “Golden Girl” for all of the Olympic and World Championships gold medals she has won: 2 in the Beijing Olympics, 2 in the Helsinki World Championships, one each in Paris and Osaka. Five gold medals in World Cross Country races. The 24-year-old Ethiopian is virtually unbeatable when healthy, and she is healthy now, and ready to show why she’s also knowns as “The Baby-Faced Destroyer.”
            In her first appearance at Hayward Field in the 36th annual Prefontaine Classic, Dibaba has asked for a very fast pace, possibly fast enough to challenge the meet record of 14:38.73, set two years ago by her arch-rival, Meseret Defar. Dibaba, a 2-time World Record setter in the event, has a lifetime collection of marks that includes more than a dozen times faster than that, topped by her 14:11.15 from ’08.
            Hoping to stay with Dibaba on Saturday is American 5k record holder Shalane Flanagan, whose 14:44.80 national standard indicates she can be dangerous. Add in 2010 USA Track & Field 5k champ Lauren Fleshman and 10k titlist Amy Begley, and the race up front should be fun toPl watch.
            Some tickets still remain for the Prefontaine Classic, and standing room will be sold once all seats are gone.

5000 METERS (WOMEN) 20

Tirunesh Dibaba (Ethiopia)
Sally Kipyego (Kenya)
Shalane Flanagan
Jen Rhines
Lauren Fleshman
Renee Baillie
Amy Hastings
Megan Metcalfe
Amy Yoder-Begley
Wude Ayalew (Ethiopia)
Pauline Korikwiang
Desiree Davila
Treniere Moser
Julia Howard (Canada)–pace
Carey Dimoff–pace
Eloise Wellings (Australia)–pace

Author

Larry Eder
Larry Eder has had a 52-year involvement in the sport of athletics. Larry has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach, magazine publisher, and now, journalist and blogger. His first article, on Don Bowden, America's first sub-4 minute miler, was published in RW in 1983. Larry has published several magazines on athletics, from American Athletics to the U.S. version of Spikes magazine. He currently manages the content and marketing development of the RunningNetwork, The Shoe Addicts, and RunBlogRun. Of RunBlogRun, his daily pilgrimage with the sport, Larry says: "I have to admit, I love traveling to far away meets, writing about the sport I love, and the athletes I respect, for my readers at runblogrun.com, the most of anything I have ever done, except, maybe running itself." Also does some updates for BBC Sports at key events, which he truly enjoys. Theme song: Greg Allman, " I'm no Angel."
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