The Ethiopian set the records at the Golden Spike meet in June in Ostrava, Czech Republic. In both events, he broke 16-year-old previous marks set by Arturo Barrios of Mexico in La Fleche, France.

Gebrselassie ran 21 285m (12.77 miles) in one hour to surpass Barrios’ mark by 184m. He also finished 20 000m in 56 minutes, 25.98 seconds. Barrios had timed 56:55.6.

The IAAF also ratified Meseret Defar’s world record in the 5 000m. The Ethiopian ran 14:16.63 at the Bislett Games in Oslo, Norway, in June to beat her own mark of 14:24.53 set in New York last year.

Source: SAPA