Bekele's world record attempt falls short

June 8, 2008
Kenenisa Bekele's attack on his world 10,000-metre record fell short at the Prefontaine Track Classic in Eugene, Ore., Sunday.

The defending Olympic champion finished in a time of 26 minutes, 25.97 seconds — eight seconds off the record of 26:17.53, which he set in Brussels in 2005.

It is still a time that only he and two-time Olympic champion Haile Gebrselassie have ever beaten and is likely to reinforce his dominance as the Beijing Games approach.

His Ethiopian teammates Ibrahim Jeilan and Maregu Zewdie filled the next two places with Mark Kosgei Kiptoo of Kenya finishing fourth.

The race was held at 9:30 a.m. local time in order to have the best running conditions possible. It was 13 degrees and calm at the start. Meet director Tom Jordan had compiled environmental conditions over the past 20 years which showed a 9:30 start was optimal.

A procession of pacemakers lined up to assist Bekele, but he was alone over the last three kilometres.

In Oslo's Golden League meet on Friday night, Ethiopia's Tirunesh Dibaba smashed the world 5,000-metre record set by another Ethiopian, Meseret Defar.

She won the race in 14:38.73, well ahead of Vivian Cheruiyot of Kenya whom she defeated to win the 2007 IAAF world championship title.

Kara Goucher, the American distance runner who shocked many by winning the bronze medal in the 10,000-metre race at Osaka, Japan, finished third in 14:58.10.

The Prefontaine Classic is held in memory of the late Steve Prefontaine, who ran at the University of Oregon and finished fourth in the 5,000-metre race at the 1972 Munich Games. He was killed in a car crash in 1975.