Almaz Ayana, after recent surgery, and with new sponsor, wants to defend World title in Doha

ADDIS ABABA (ETH): World record holder Almaz Ayana (26) gave news about her after a long period of silence and a long absence from competition (her last race was the New Delhi half-marathon in November 2017). The Olympic 10 000 m champion, who recently partnered with Nike and mineral water brand Aquasafe, announced that she recently underwent knee surgery in Switzerland and will return to training in three months. Earlier this year her name was included in the highlights of the 2017 IAAF World championships biomechanics study, the data showing a surprisingly asymmetrical side (a right-to-left step length difference of up to 20cm compared the the left to right), which could play a role to her proneness to injury. Her goal is to try to defend the World title in Doha 2019 in the 10 000 m.