Almaz Ayana threatened 5000 metres World Record
The image pretty much describes Ayana's route to this World Leading, Africa all-comers' and Meeting Record. This is, she was completely on her own...
The Ethiopian rising star is on her second year of dominance in the 5000 metres. And there seems to be no way of matching her endurance on the track, as was demonstrated this Sunday (22), during the Rabat Diamond League.
This 5th best time in history (the 4th is also hers, obtained in Shangai last year) was achieved by running against time only, to demonstrate how resilient the African was and how well she deals with these non-tactical races.
She was paced by two athletes but, by 1500 metres, she was already heading isolated to the front of the line of runners. This means that she still had 3500 metres to deal with.
The question that remains is when will there be an athletics meeting to organize proper pacing with the aim of braking the 14:11.15 World Record, which belongs to Tirunesh Dibaba since 2008.
Adding to this, Genzebe Dibaba could be alongside Ayana in such an attempt, as she also holds a Personal Best of 14:15.41 (clocked last year in Paris).
In the meantime, let us enjoy old-style victories which the 5000-metres World Champion keeps presenting us with.
(Photo credits: Kirby Lee)
