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The world record holder at 5000m on both the track and on the roads, Meseret Defar of Ethiopia, was announced today as the leading women's athlete for the NewcastleGateshead Great North 3000m road race, scheduled for Sept. 30 in Newcastle, England.
Defar, 22, set both records earlier this year, running 14:46 at the Carlsbad 5000 last April then 14:24.53 at the Reebok Grand Prix in New York City last June. She is the IAAF #1-ranked woman in the 5000m/10,000m category, just a scant four points ahead of her compatriot, Tirunesh Dibaba.
NewcastleGateshead Great North 3000m road race is part of the run-up to the BUPA Great North Run which will be held in Newcastle the following day.
Elite athlete coordinator Matthew Turnbull has assembled a quality group of women to challenge Defar, including defending champion and reigning IAAF world steeplechase champion, Dorcus Inzikuru of Uganda. Also entered are Liliya Shobukhova of Russia, who just won the silver medal at 5000m at the European Championships in Gothenburg, and Wioletta Janowska of Poland, the bronze medalist from Gothenburg in the steeplechase.
"It's certainly looking to be a dream field and despite Defar's outstanding profile, don't rule out any of the others to cause an upset," said Turnbull in a press release. "Shobukhova in particular, will be a big danger as is a specialist over the distance."
The race program will also feature men and women's mile races, a men's 3000m event and will the afternoon's program will conclude with the Tesco Junior Great North Run. The elite races will be televised live in the BBC.
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