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Eugene, Oregon--The current world recordholder and 2004 Olympic gold medalist is from Ethiopia and will attempt to break the world record at the Prefontaine Classic on Sunday morning, June 8th, at the 34th Prefontaine Classic. Sound familiar? No, this isn’t a repeat of the exciting Kenenisa Bekele announcement.
This time it is Meseret Defar, the 24-year-old phenom who will try to improve upon her 14:16.63 world standard, set last June 15th at Oslo. That mark was an improvement on her own world record from 2006 of 14:24.53, set on June 3rd. The Prefontaine Classic is on June 8th. Coincidence or portent?
"Meseret is focusing on running fast at the Prefontaine Classic," said her representative Mark Wetmore. "Her training is geared toward that race."
As with Kenenisa Bekele's 10k record attempt, the 5k will be run in the morning, right after the conclusion of the 10k.
"We certainly found something worthwhile to fill up some of the time between the 10k and the rest of the meet," said meet director Tom Jordan. "Meseret has been one of the most consistent performers in the sport over the last four years, and to have her attempt the world record in Eugene is perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the fans at the Pre Classic." To help establish a fast pace, Olga Komyagina of Russia will fly in for the meet. Komyagina finished 5th in this year's World Indoor Championships 3000 meter race, which Defar won.
In addition to that gold, and winning the gold in Athens, Defar won 5k gold at last summer's World Championships in Osaka, silver in the 2005 World Champs, and was named Track & Field News's 2007 Athlete of the Year.
Compare this with Bekele's Olympic gold in '04, three World Championship golds, and two world records, and the similarities are striking. Will one or both strike world record gold?
Tickets for the Prefontaine Classic are on sale now at www.goducks.com, at 1-800-WEBFOOT, and at the Casanova Center ticket office.
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