IAAF Flash! Genzebe Dibaba runs 8:16.60 for 3,000m WIR at XL Galan/Stockholm from IAAF

The IAAF has just reported that Genzebe Dibaba, five days after running a WIR for the 1,500 meters (3:55.17) in Karlruhe, Germany, has set a second World Indoor Record with her stunning 8:16.60 in Stockholm this evening.

The photo, from the IAAF site, is courtesy of DECA Text & Bild (copyright), showing Genzebe Dibaba just before her finish in her masterful run!

At this time, Genzebe Dibaba has told the media that she will ONLY run the 3,000 meters in Sopot, Poland (March 7-9) at the World Indoor Championships. Personally, we hope that she doubles (not sure about the schedule).

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Just five days after breaking the world indoor 1500m record, Ethiopia’s Genzebe Dibaba smashed the world indoor 3000m record at Stockholm’s XL Galan, an IAAF Indoor Permit meeting, with a stunning 8:16.60 run on Thursday, February 6, 2014.

Once again the pacemakers did a perfect job and set Dibaba up perfectly to attack the 8:23.72 mark set by Meseret Defar in 2007.

At 2000m, reached in 5:34.25, Dibaba was more than four seconds quicker than Defar was at the same stage when she set the previous world indoor record seven years ago.

But the 22-year-old showed no signs of slowing and continued to extend her lead over the world indoor champion at the distance, Hellen Obiri.

She crossed the line in 8:16.60 to take more than seven seconds from her compatriot’s mark. It is also an outright African record, bettering the 8:23.23 set outdoors by Edith Masai in 2002, and is the fastest performance indoors or outdoors since 1993.

Only three women – Chinese trio Wang Junxia, Qu Yunxia and Zhang Linli – have ever run faster.

More details to come. Special thanks to the IAAF!

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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