Posted: July 14, 2006

Athletics: Several Key Middle & Long Distance Match-Ups On Tap In Rome

From David Monti

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

By Bob Ramsak

ROME – While much of the pre-meet attention has been focused on the clash between world and Olympic champion Jeremy Wariner and rising star Xavier Carter in the 400 meters, tonight’s Borotalco Golden Gala meeting at Rome’s Olympic Stadium, the third in the six-meet IAAF Golden League series, features a full-slate of key match-ups in the middle & long distance events.

Perhaps the brightest highlight will come in the women’s 5000 which once again pits two-time world champion Tirunesh Dibaba against her Ethiopian compatriot Meseret Defar. Besides pride, Dibaba, who won the Oslo and Paris Golden League stops, will put her stake in the $1 million chase on the line as well. In the most thrilling finish of Saturday’s Meeting Gaz de France competition in Paris, Dibaba gradually narrowed a significant gap down the homestretch en route to a 14:52.24 win, just six one-hundredths of a second ahead of Defar.

"We know that Defar and Dibaba can run very well," said Meet director Luigi D’Onofrio. "But we know that one won’t help the other to get a world record. Hopefully this will be a very fast race. We’ve tried to create conditions for that."

The strong field also includes Kenyans Edith Masai and Isabella Ochichi, Ethiopian Berhane Adere, and American marathon star Deena Kastor, who will make her first track appearance in two years. Pacemakers will lead the field through 3000 in 8:43.

The men’s 5000 features the strongest field yet assembled this season, led by world record holder Kenenisa Bekele, the winner over the distance in Paris last weekend with a world-leading 12:51.32 effort. The solid field also includes Isaac Songok, the 22-year-old Kenyan who upset Bekele in the Golden League series opener in Oslo on June 2, who returns to the longer distance after a 3:31.85 performance in the 1500 in Paris on Saturday. Saif Saaeed Shaheen, the world record holder in the 3000m steeplechase, joined the field earlier this week. Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge, the 2003 world champion and Olympic bronze medallist, reigning world champion Benjamin Limo, and Boniface Kiprop, who set a Ugandan national record of 12:57.60 in Paris, are also in the line-up. A 7:37 pace through 3000 meters has been requested.

The men’s 1500 features a match-up between Ukraine’s Ivan Heshko, winner of the Paris race last weekend, and Alex Kipchirchir, winner of Oslo’s Dream Mile last month, and world champion Rachid Ramzi. Ramzi, who hasn’t raced in over a month, is the two-time defending winner in Rome, where he’s produced fast performances: 3:30/25 in 2004 and 3:30.00 in 2005. According to statistician Mark Butler, Ramzi has requested world record pace. In his legendary 3:26.00 run on this same track exactly eight years ago, Hicham El Guerrouj followed the following pace: 400m: 53.6; 800m: 1:50.5; 1000m: 2:18.5; 1100m: 2:32.8; and 1200m: 2:46.4.

The women’s 800 field is topped by Kenyan Janeth Jepkosgei, who lowered her own national record to 1:56.66 with her win in Lausanne, beating a solid field that included world champion Zuliya Calatayud of Cuba; Calatayud will be seeking revenge in Rome. Olympic silver medallist Hasna Benhassi, Athens winner Olga Kotlyarova, and U.S champion Hazel Clarke are also in the field. Pacer Tatyana Levina’s chore includes a 56.5 first lap.

In the men’s 800, Olympic champion Yuriy Borzakovskiy is looking to bounce back from his disappointing third place showing from Lausanne on Tuesday. Kenyan teenager Alfre Kirwa Yego returns to action after his sub-1:44 win in Lausanne’s B race, while Canadian Gary Reed, who lowered his national record to 1:44.16 in Lausanne behind Kirwa, and U.S. champion Khadevis Robinson, are hoping for breakout international performances. The requested pace was 50 seconds for the first half.

Besides Dibaba, 400 meter sprinters Jeremy Wariner and Sanya Richards, and 100 meter co-world record holder Asafa Powell are still in the running for a slice of the full $1 million Golden League Jackpot. Another 14 athletes, all the remaining winners of their respective Golden League events in Oslo and Rome, remain eligible for a piece of the $500,000 jackpot.

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