By Sabrina Yohannes
Thursday August 21 2008
BEIJING (Reuters) – Defending champion Meseret Defar, 10,000 metres winner Tirunesh Dibaba and African champion Meselech Melkamu are bidding for an Ethiopian sweep of the medals in the Olympic women’s 5000 final on Friday.
“We’ve done good preparation and we came to win,” Melkamu told Reuters.
The trio were part of Ethiopia’s sweep of the first four places at the 2005 world championships in Helsinki, where Dibaba, her elder sister Ejegayehu and Defar earned medals, and Melkamu fell just short.
World 10,000 champion Dibaba won the Olympic 10,000 on Friday in 29:54.66, the second-fastest time ever. Read More.
Ethiopia’s Golden Girl: Dibaba Wins Women’s 10000m
Tirunesh Dibaba Kenene celebrates after crossing the line.
(Photo credit: Mark Dadswell/Getty Images)
From the Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games
(BEIJING, August 15) — Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia has won gold and set a new Olympic record in the Women’s 10000m at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 15.
Dibaba’s time of 29:54.66 was enough to break the old record of 30:17.49 set by fellow Ethiopian Derartu Tulu and hold off silver medalist Elvan Abeylegess of Turkey (also born in Ethiopia) who ran a time of 29:56.34. Bronze went to Shalane Flanagan of the United States in a time of 30:22:22.
The world record of 29:31.78 seconds in this event is held by China’s Wang Junxia China, set in 1993. Read More.
Elvan Abeylegesse of Turkey (born in Ethiopia) and Tirunesh Dibaba Kenene.
(Photo credit: Mark Dadswell/Getty Images)
Tirunesh Dibaba Kenene celebrates. (Photo credit: Mark Dadswell/Getty Images)
Dibaba planning long-distance double
Reuters
By Sabrina Yohannes
Thursday, August 14, 2008
BEIJING (Reuters) – World 10,000-metre champion Tirunesh Dibaba says she expects to run both the 10,000 and 5,000m events in Beijing, hoping to become the first woman to scoop the Olympic distance double.
In 2005 Dibaba became the first woman to win both races at a world championships when she led an Ethiopian podium sweep in both events in Helsinki.
She retained the 10,000 title in Osaka last year after suffering from abdominal pain mid-race but skipped the 5,000 days later.
“My expectation is that I will run both,” she told Reuters after arriving in Beijing. “It’s being said that it’s a little hot here, so the final decision will be made after the 10,000.” Read more at Guardian.