Meselech Melkamu dominates. Watch out Tirunesh and Meseret
- Tuesday, July 14, 2009, 20:53
- Sports
- 494 views
- Add a comment
While the sold out Mestsky stadium crowd packed every nook and cranny of the facility to catch a fleeting glimpse of the world’s fastest man, the 20,000-plus were treated by several solid performances and entertaining head-to-head battles. And all things considered, it was Meselech Melkamu who arguably produced the strongest performance of the Wednesday evening.
After her stunning run in Utrecht on Sunday, where she became the second fastest woman ever in the 10,000m clocking 29:53.80, Melkamu could have been forgiven for not having the freshest of legs in 5000m field. But the Ethiopian clearly illustrated that her better known compatriots, Tirunesh Dibaba and Meseret Defar, now have some very serious company on the track.
As expected, it was Melkamu, along with Kenyans Linet Masai and Vivian Cheruiyot who were the key players, but the Ethiopian didn’t hide behind her apparently tired legs. Continually pushing the pace, she and Masai exchanged the lead several times, keeping the pace honest, with Cheruiyot trailing just a few metres back.
When Cheruiyot dropped out of contention with three laps to go, the two forged on continuing to exchange the lead. Masai led at the bell, but Melkamu carried the lead off the final bend and held on to win with a world-leading 14:34.17. Masai, who finished fourth in the 10,000m in Beijing last summer, was just a few ticks back in 14:34.36, a personal best for the 19-year-old.
“It was a very hard race,” said Melkamu, the reigning World indoor silver medallist at 3000m. “I had a very fast run in the 10,000m three days ago. And I’m very tired. But I’ve had really good training and I’m very well prepared.” In recent memory, no remotely similar performances have been produced just days apart. Dibaba and Defar, take note.
