By Elshadai Negash for the IAAF
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – Ethiopia’s World 5000m and 10,000 champion Tirunesh Dibaba just loves travelling to Paris and it is not because of the delicious brassieres or the breathtaking sight of the Eiffel Tower!
The Ethiopian will be one of the star attractions at the Friday’s Meeting Gaz de France Paris Saint-Denis (6 July), the second of six meetings of the IAAF Golden League 2007.
“I love France and the city of Paris,” Dibaba confirms. “I have a very good feeling even when the name of the country is called out.”
Dibaba’s affection towards France and the French capital in particular comes as no surprise. Nearly four years ago, the-then 17-year old became the youngest ever individual gold medallist in the history of the IAAF World Championships in Athletics when sneaking a surprise 5000m title in front of a capacity home crowd in the Stade de France.
Eighteen months later and competing at the Hippodrome race course, she became only the second woman in history to win the short and long course double at the 33rd IAAF World Cross Country Championships in St. Etienne/St. Galmier, in central France.
And in last year’s Meeting Gaz de France Saint-Denis, the 21-year-old out sprinted compatriot Meseret Defar in the 5000m as she drew first blood in what turned out to be an intense rivalry between the two Ethiopians in the summer track season.
“I have run a lot of races in the last four years, but I will always remember the 5000m race (at the World Champs) in Paris four years ago,” commented Dibaba. “It was probably the happiest moment of my life.”
With all the fond memories neatly tucked away, Dibaba will line up for the 5000m race in Paris on Friday (6) with the knowledge that she has some catching up to do in the track season.
Affected by Mombasa
“I have not been the same since running in Mombasa,” she says of her tiresome silver-medal effort behind Dutchwoman Lornah Kiplagat in the World Cross Country Championships last March. “Many other Ethiopian athletes were either injured or out of shape immediately, but I started feeling the effects only in the last month. I feel very tired and exhausted after training.”
Leg injury
The effects of Mombasa’s heat and humidity did not seem to affect the World Indoor 5000m record holder as she stormed to a now-defunct world leading 14:35.67 in the Reebok New York Grand Prix in June.
“I gave everything I had in that race,” she says. “I returned home with a leg injury and have not been able to do well in training. I have been advised by coaches not to run until Osaka, but I have to test myself in competition.”
Happy for Defar
While Dibaba has been nursing an injury, her compatriot and arch-rival Meseret Defar has smashed World records or set World bests in two of the three races she has in the outdoor season.
“I clapped and cheered her after watching the Oslo race,” says Dibaba. “It was a good race and even the second placed runner (Kenyan Vivian Cheruiyot) improved the previous record. It was fantastic and I want to congratulate Meseret for the victory.”
Would she have wanted to run with Defar in that race so that she too could become a part of record-breaking history?
“I do not think the outcome would have been the same if I had been part of that race,” says Dibaba. “It’s very difficult to say that Meseret would have run solely against the clock if I had been in that race.”
Dibaba had also planned her own World record assault in Paris, but says the effort could prove difficult after her injury problems this summer.
“I do not think I am in the sort of shape to chase a World record especially now that Meseret has broken it by a large margin,” she says. “I want to focus on winning in Paris.”
Osaka 5000m/10,000m double
Unlike her compatriots who will continue to run in major European meetings and the All-African Games in Algiers, Algeria, Dibaba has opted to compete only in Paris and then skip the remainder of the track season before the World Championships in Osaka in August.
“I have to recover from the injury and then prepare for Osaka,” she says. “I am planning to defend both my 5000m and 10000m titles in Osaka.”
Because she is the defending champion in both events, Dibaba will automatically qualify without the need of achieving qualifying standards for both competitions. She has raced extensively over the shorter distance since her impressive double two years ago, but how will she make up for lack of competition over the 10,000m?
“I have not competed over the 10,000m since Helsinki,” says Dibaba who has run only two races over the distance in her career. “After Paris, I will rest a bit, treat my injury, and then hopefully train for the 10,000m.”
Ever-rising popularity
Her period of no-competition before Osaka now means that athletics fans will have to wait until August for a repeat of another Defar vs. Dibaba battle. “On my part, I have no plans to avoid her in competition,” she says. “I think it is just coincidence that we have not met in competition this year.”
Another successful double in Osaka will put her among the all-time greats of female distance running and further expand her fan base in her home country.
“I feel that everyone in Ethiopia knows me,” she says. “It is a great sense of pride and joy for me. It is a big motivation that I am known and admired by many people in my country.”
I love sleeping
Dibaba remains humble and down-to-earth despite her celebrity status that rivals musicians, artists, and film actors in her country. After four years at the top and lots of public exposure, she maintains that her favourite place in the world is her bedroom and her favourite activity is sleeping.
“I love sleeping,” she says. “I only wake up for training. It is one of the reasons why I run well because my body is rested and ready to train.”
When she goes out of her house, Dibaba’s favourite destinations are Addis Ababa’s two amusement parks where she likes to accompany her two younger sisters on a rollercoaster ride.
“I like that a lot,” she smiles. “I have finished my childhood, but my sister Genzebe (a runner who finished fifth in the junior race in Mombasa) is still only a kid and loves to play. I have grown out of it, but Genzebe and my cousins drag me into the game.”