Posted: January 13, 2005

Athletics: Tadesse, Dibaba Added To Edinburgh Fields

From David Monti

(c) 2004 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com

by Bob Ramsak

Olympic 10,000 meters bronze medallist Zersenay Tadesse and Ethiopian Ejegayehu Dibaba, the Olympic silver medallist at 10,000 meters, are the latest entries for Saturday's View From Great Edinburgh Cross Country race in the Scottish capital.

The 22-year-old Tadesse, Eritrea's first-ever Olympic medallist, heads to Edinburgh on the heels of last weekend's 12-second victory over five-time European cross country champion Sergey Lebed in Fuensalida, Spain. Tadesse was fourth in Britain's top cross country event last year when it was held in Newcastle, and finished sixth in the long course race at last year's World Cross Country Championships.

Dibaba, who was runner-up to Australian Benita Johnson in the long course race at the World Cross Country Championships last March, will face the reigning world champion for the first time in cross country competition since their race in Brussels.

Additional late entries to the men's race include Ethiopians Gebre Gebremariam and Dejene Berhanu. Gebremarian finished second to Kenenisa Bekele in the world championships long course race last year, while Berhanu became the third fastest half marathoner of all time with his 59:37 win at last September's BUPA Great North Run.

No additional major name announcements are expected.

"That's it," said Matthew Turnbull, athletics director for the event. "The race is two days away and we have world class fields in both the men and women's international races. And to be honest, unless some big names drop out and I have to replace them at short notice, I don't have any money left to accept any other runners."

Despite the loss of Bekele, the triple-double world cross country champion who dropped out over the weekend after the tragic death of his fiancée, organizers have assembled the strongest race fields of the current cross season. The men's nine kilometer race also includes Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge, the reigning world 5000 meter champion; world 3,000 meter steeplechase champion Saif Saaeed Shaheen of Qatar; the European champion Lebed; and Australian Craig Mottram. American Tim Broe will also be on the start line. In addition to Johnson and Dibaba, defending champion Tirunesh Dibaba, Ejegayehu's younger sister and the reigning world 5000 meter champion, and another Ethiopian, Meselech Melkamu, the reigning world cross junior champion, are also in the six kilometer race.

Race day temperatures are expected to reach a high of 51° (10° C.), with a slight chance of showers in the forecast.