Defar returns to bislett

Ethiopia’s former Olympic Champion Meseret Defar has confirmed see will contest the Women’s 5000m at this year’s EXXON Mobil Bislett Games in Oslo on June 9th. Defar will return to Norway’s famous stadium where she established the 5000m World Record in 2007. Her time of 14.16.63 took a staggering eight seconds off the record she had established in New York the previous year.

Less than a year later , Defar’s country women and great rival Tirenesh Dibaba would again revel in the perfect conditions at Bislett stadium to establish the current 5000m World Record of an incredible 14.11.15

Defar has achieved many honours in her career, Olympic gold medallist, World Championships gold medallist and a four time winner of the World Indoor 3000m title but she faces a real task in this Samsung Diamond League event. In that stirring race in 2007 she battled with a young Kenyan by the name of Vivian Cheruiyot whose performance in that race was quiet remarkable. The unknown Cheruiyot doggedly followed Defar all the way and was 2nd in a time of 14.22.51 – a performance that was also under the previous World Record!

Vivian Cheruiyot has continued to improve since her introduction into big time athletics at Bislett in 2007. She became the 5000m World Champion in 2009 and earlier this demonstrated her versatility by winning the World Cross Country Championship in Punta Umbria. In the Samsung Diamond League meeting in Shanghai recently she gave fans of her personal development by storming home in 61 second for the final lap of the 5000m race. Thus far this year she has shown both strength (World Cross Country) and abundant closing speed (Shanghai), which indicates her personal best for the 5000m is in for some revision in the EXXON Mobil Bislett Games when she faces one her greatest rivals – Meseret Defar.

However this is no match race , the women’s 5000m has attracted a very high quality field that will be very competitive and intent on reaping the reward of the fast times that are expected at Bislett Stadium. World 10,000m champion Linet Masai of Kenya gives the impression that her long stride can carry her through any pace , whilst another Kenya, Sylvia Kibet is not to be underestimated as she split Cheruiyot and Defar at the World Championships in Berlin to gain the silver medal. Ethiopia will be well represented with Berlin 4th placegetter Sentayehu Ejigu and former African Champion Meselech Melkamu ensuring another great race highlighted by the Ethiopia / Kenyan rivalry in a distance event

Defar’s 2007 run in Bislett has now been regarded as one of the greatest performances ever seen in the “world record track”, comparable to Ron Clarke’s legendry shattering of the World 10,000m record in 1965 when he took almost 27 seconds off the existing mark. Meseret’s break through achievement took women’s distance running to a new level, her result that night remains the 3rd fastest performance of all time and the second fastest 5000m of her illustrious career.