Posted: April 1, 2005

Athletics: Defending Championship Ochichi, Berhanu Headine Carlsbad 5000

From David Monti

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

By Bob Ramsak

Ritzenhein Joins Field

Defending champions Isabella Ochichi and Dejene Berhanu will return to defend their titles while American eyes will be on Dathan Ritzenhein at Sunday's 20th Carlsbad 5000 in Carlsbad, Calif.

Ochichi, who last weekend claimed an impressive 30:27 win over Briton Paula Radcliffe at the Crescent City Classic 10-K in New Orleans, will face her toughest challenge of the year where she'll square off against Tirubesh Dibaba, the 19-year-old Ethiopian who less than two weeks ago ran to a double gold medal performance at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships.

The men's race features two-time defending champion Berhanu, another Ethiopian, who will face three-time winner Sammy Kipketer. Berhanu returns to action after finishing seventh and sixth in the short and long course races, respectively, at the World Cross Country Championships. Kipketer, 23, set a world best of 13:00 on this flat course in 2000, which features four sharp turns.

The 22-year-old Ritzenhein, among the most promising American distance runners, joins the Carlsbad field hoping to bounce back from a sub-par performance at the World Cross Country Championships. In St. Galmier, the 22-year-old from Boulder, Colo., finished a distant 62nd after his feet blistered badly during the race. A former World Junior Cross Country bronze medallist, "Ritz" began his season with a win at the Reebok Cross Country Challenge in Belfast, Ireland in January.

Ritzenhein may have his sights on the U.S. record of 13:24 set by Marc Davis in Carlsbad in 1996.

Since the race's inception, 14 world bests have been set on the fast course.