Eugene, Oregon--The current world recordholder and 2004 Olympic gold
medalist is from Ethiopia and will attempt to break the world record at
the Prefontaine Classic on Sunday morning, June 8th, at the 34th
Prefontaine Classic. Sound familiar? No, this isn’t a repeat of the
exciting Kenenisa Bekele announcement.
This time it is Meseret
Defar, the 24-year-old phenom who will try to improve upon her 14:16.63
world standard, set last June 15th at Oslo. That mark was an
improvement on her own world record from 2006 of 14:24.53, set on June
3rd. The Prefontaine Classic is on June 8th. Coincidence or portent?
"Meseret is focusing on running fast at the Prefontaine Classic," said
her representative Mark Wetmore. "Her training is geared toward that
race."
As with Kenenisa Bekele's 10k record attempt, the 5k will be run in the morning, right after the conclusion of the 10k.
"We certainly found something worthwhile to fill up some of the time
between the 10k and the rest of the meet," said meet director Tom
Jordan. "Meseret has been one of the most consistent performers in the
sport over the last four years, and to have her attempt the world
record in Eugene is perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the
fans at the Pre Classic." To help establish a fast pace, Olga
Komyagina of Russia will fly in for the meet. Komyagina finished 5th in
this year's World Indoor Championships 3000 meter race, which Defar
won.
In addition to that gold, and winning the gold in Athens,
Defar won 5k gold at last summer's World Championships in Osaka, silver
in the 2005 World Champs, and was named Track & Field News's 2007
Athlete of the Year.