PARIS: Tirunesh Dibaba will arrive in Beijing for the Olympic Games as hot favourite for gold in the women’s 5,000m or 10,000m, or both if she decides to double up, after a stunning start to her season.
The diminutive 22-year-old, the reigning two-time world 10,000m champion, in June smashed the world record for 5km previously held by compatriot and archrival Meseret Defar.
During that record run at the Bislett Games in Oslo, Dibaba once again demonstrated the fighting spirit she has become known for, upping the lap times as the pace setters fell by the wayside.
She displayed the same grit in coming from behind to win both the 10,000m at last year’s world championships in Osaka and the world cross-country in Edinburgh in March.
Dibaba, whose medal haul includes three other golds and one silver in the world cross-country championships, two world golds over 5000m in 2003 and 2005 and Olympic bronze in the same distance at the Athens Games, has not ruled out doubling up in Beijing.
“I’m thinking about the double,” Dibaba said after her record-setting run in Oslo. “What happened makes a case for me to consider that.”
Dibaba, who trains at high-altitude in Ethiopia, up to 4,000m, heads up a remarkable family of runners — and medal contenders — in the Chinese capital.
Her sister Ejegayehu is the Olympic 10,000m silver medallist, while younger sister Genzebe, 17, won the junior women’s world cross-country race in Edinburgh.
“My sister was out first and it was partly in order to match her achievement that I dug in and put everything I had into it to win,” Tirunesh said after her cross win in Edinburgh.
“When Genzebe was competing, I was warming up. I was very anxious for her, indeed more so for her than myself. I’m happy we’ve brought home two gold medals, and I’m happier for her gold than mine.”
Dibaba added that her preparations for the Olympics were passing off well. “Training compared with past years has been better,” she said, adding that there was no bad blood between her and Defar. “During races we are rivals of course, but after the race we are friends,” she said.