Posted: June 1, 2006

Athletics: Bekele Refuses Favorite’s Role As Golden League Begins

From David Monti

© 2006 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com

By Bob Ramsak

OSLO, Norway -- Ethiopians Kenenisa Bekele and Tirunesh Dibaba, the men’s and women’s world championships in the 10,000 metres, will be among the chief protagonists when the chase for the IAAF Golden League Jackpot begins tomorrow night here in the Norwegian capital.

But Bekele, who hasn’t lost a Golden League race since 2003, is taking nothing for granted.

“It’s too hard to say at this time who’s going to win, and how many they’re going to win,” said Bekele, who will be making his first competitive appearance since racing to is fifth consecutive double gold haul at the April’s World Cross Country Championships. “Each race is different. There are so many strong athletes in each event that it’s difficult to know who the winners will be.”

Bekele singled out one of those, Kenyan Isaac Songok, the year's fastest in the 3000 meters after his 7:28.98 win in Doha, Qatar three weeks ago.

Dibaba, who last year became the first athlete --male or female-- to win both the 5,000 and 10,000 at a world championships, will be chased by Kenyan Priscilla Jepleting, who produced a world-leading performance in the 3,000 meters on Tuesday in Ostrava.

The meeting’s signature event, the Dream Mile, features Kenyan Daniel Kipchirchir Komen, the fastest 1500 metre runner in 2005 who won three of the six Golden League metric mile races last year. He will face Ivan Heshko of Ukraine, who outsprinted the Kenyan at the world indoor championships in March, and Kenyans Alex Kipchirchir and Augustine Choge, respectively the 800 and 5,000 meter Commonwealth champions.

11 disciplines were designated by the sport’s governing body as Golden League events this season in which any athlete who wins in five of the six competitions will be eligible to claim a share of $500,000. Any athletes who emerge victorious from all six meetings will share an additional $500,000. The men’s events are the 100, 400, 1500 and 3000/5000 meters, the long jump and javelin throw. The women’s events include the 100, 400, and 3000/5000 meters, the 100 meter hurdles, and the high jump.

The series continues on July 8 in Paris, and also includes meetings in Rome, Zurich, Brussels and Berlin. To win a share of the jackpot, eligible athletes must also compete in the season-capping World Athletics Final in Stuttgart Septmeber 8-9.

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