Kenenisa Bekele: how soon will he totally annihilate the distance WR's?

At the time of that run he was 10000m world record shape; however, lack of pacesetters and wind was his demise. Kenenisa's endurance is great for this time of year. He is back training but during the WR attempt he was capable of at least:

3000m....7:24

5000m....12:40

i think k. bekele will double the 10k is first, i know he has said he wont double, but he has been known to change his mind.

it would be historic. look at who could be in the olympic mens 5000m final:

kenenisa bekele(world champ)

tariku bekele

craig mottram(former world champ bronze)

bernard lagat(world champ)

eliud kipchoge(world champ 2003)

moses kipsiro(world bronze)

and i would also like to see in this finak

augustine choge(because he's more a 5k runner than a miler)

isaac songok

matt tegenkamp

chris solinsky

alistair cragg

mo farah

rachid ramzi?

do not forget silishi sehine.

for sure he will double up

Bekele and Dibaba to double…Ethiopia announces squad of 36 for Beijing

Kenenisa Bekele wins his third consecutive World 10,000m title (Getty Images)

relnews Addis Ababa, Ethiopia- The Ethiopian Olympic Committee (EOC) today announced its strong squad of 36 athletes for the Olympics Games in Beijing, China.

Bekele and Dibaba to double

The pick of the announcements is the selection of Kenenisa Bekele and Tirunesh Dibaba to both the 5000m and 10000m squads. After weeks of speculation, distance running star Haile Gebrselassie’s place in the 10,000m has now been confirmed, while Gete Wami and Berhane Adere, veterans of previous Ethiopian Olympic teams, make a historic return after missing the 2004 edition.

A star-studded squad is hopeful of matching or surpassing the country’s best medal tally in the Olympic Games - eight medals (4 gold, 1 silver, and 3 bronze) - set in Sydney 2000. Long Distance Men

The cream of the squad is perhaps concentrated in the men’s 10,000m where Kenenisa Bekele hopes to defend his 10,000m title in Beijing and will be accompanied by countrymen Sileshi Sihine and Haile Gebrselassie.

The ambition in naming the three stalwarts of Ethiopia’s major championship teams is to replicate a clean sweep of the podium places similar to the 2003 World championships in Paris.

Thanks to his unbeaten streak over the 10,000m that now runs more than ten races, Bekele is the overwhelming favourite in the 10,000m and baring no ill effects is scheduled to run in the 5000m where he hopes to improve on his silver medal from Athens four years ago.

Not for the first time in major championships, he will be challenged by Sileshi Sihine who now has a set of major championship silver medals (one in the Olympics and three in the world championships).

Gebrselassie injury doubt

Haile Gebrselassie hopes to complete a sensational return to the 10,000m in Beijing. The 35-year-old stunned many by running 26:50 in May over the 10,000m and claimed that he could have run faster under better weather conditions and better pace-making.

Gebrselassie had planned a 5000m in Milan this month to sharpen his speed ahead of Beijing, but pulled out due to an Achilles heel injury. Although he has resumed training, there is no official word yet if his latest injury scare could harm his chances in the Chinese capital.

In the men’s 5000m, the older Bekele will lead a strong team of young runners. Younger brother Tariku finally won senior gold this year when taking 3000m victory in the World Indoors. He will be joined by recently-minted World junior champion Abraham Cherkos and African bronze medallist Ali Abdosh.

Long distance Women

Double World 10,000m champion Tirunesh Dibaba is facing the same situation and equally-motivated challengers as she attempts an unprecedented double in Beijing following her 5000m bronze in Athens.

After a third world cross country gold and a first African 10,000m title, Dibaba sliced four and half seconds off compatriot Meseret Defar’s World 5000m record in Oslo and is the favourite in both the 5000m and 10000m in Beijing.

This year Defar has won a third successive World Indoor 3000m title but suffered her first 5000m defeat since September 2006 when going down to Meselech Melkamu at the African Championships.

But any meeting of the Duelling D’s is music to the ears of track fans. The pair will go head-to-head should Dibaba feel no after effects after the 10,000m.

Dibaba at 10,000m will be challenged by a reinvigorated Mestawet Tufa. The leader of the Ethiopian lists with 30:38.33 - no other Ethiopian has run sub 31:00 this year - Tufa is back to form after a spate of injuries in 2007 and along with Ejegayehou Dibaba, the reigning Olympics silver medallist, should give Tirunesh a tough race.

In addition to Defar, Dibaba will have the improving Meselech Melkamu in the 5000m, while Belaynesh Fekadu is on stand-by should Dibaba fail to recover from the 10000m.

Marathon women

Ethiopia will pit two veterans and two newcomers here. 2000 Olympic Games 5000m bronze and 10,000m silver medallist Gete Wami returns over the marathon after missing the 2004 Games due to injury.

The 33-year-old has enjoyed an incredible marathon career since returning from maternity leave. She has run sub 2:25 on five occasions and won the inaugural world marathon majors as a reward for her consistency in major city marathons.

Fellow veteran Berhane Adere was controversially dropped from the 2004 team for disciplinary reasons. The 35-year-old has also enjoyed a successful, but inconsistent marathon career the heights being an Ethiopian record in the 2006 London Marathon and the lows a disappointing 2:42 on the same course last year. Despite taking part in the 1996 and 2000 Games, Adere, the 2003 World 10,000m champion has never medalled in the Olympics.

Recently-minted world one-hour record holder Dire Tune and Bezunesh Bekele (second in the Dubai Marathon) will fight out the remaining spot in the marathon team.

Marathon Men

Following Gebrselassie’s decision to skip the Beijing marathon and concentrate on the 10,000m, Ethiopia will look to two young runners who could be the surprise package of the summer in Beijing.

Both Tsegaye Kebede (2:06.40 winner of the 2008 Paris International Marathon) and Deriba Mergia (2:06.38 for 6th in the 2008 Flora London Marathon and 2:06.50 for 2nd in the Fukuoka Marathon) have never competed over the full marathon in Ethiopian colours. In fact, only Mergia (All-African Games half marathon gold medallist and fourth in the 2007 world half marathon championships) has any kind of major championship experience.

They will be joined in Beijing by either Gudisa Shentema or Gashaw Melese who will be fighting for the last automatic qualification slot.

Middle Distance – Men and Women

For all their dominance in long distance events, Ethiopia has never won an Olympic medal in an event shorter than the 3000m Steeplechase. But if Gelete Burka has the chance of changing matters.

Burka won the All-African Games 1500m gold in Algiers, but then chose to contest the 5000m at the World championships and paid the price for it with a disappointing eighth place finish. But this year, the 23-year old has transformed herself into a major contender at 1500m. She ended her barren streak in global championship track events with bronze at the World Indoor championships in Valencia, Spain and then took her first African 1500m title on home soil.

Burka will be joined in Beijing by Meskerem Assefa, who was second to Burka in Addis Ababa in May. Having just dipped under the IAAF Olympic A standard for the 1500m, Assefa will be delighted about making the Ethiopian team in only her second international competition year. The Ethiopian men’s 1500m is an interesting mix of the old and new. Three of the four athletes making the final selections are set to make their debuts in Beijing. Among them, World Indoor champion Derese Mekonnen will feel he can run well against world class opposition.

After his breakthrough in 2007, Mekonnen surprised many by beating Daniel Kipchirchir Komen on the way to World Indoor gold in Valencia. In the outdoor season, he has lowered his PB by a massive four seconds to 3:32.99.

Seasoned campaigner Mulugeta Wondimu, ninth in Athens 2004, makes a dramatic return to the Olympics following three inconsistent seasons where he competed over a range of events from the 1500m to the marathon.

And selectors will wait until the last moment to select between Osaka semi-finalist Mekonnen Gebremedhin and World junior bronze medallist Demma Daba.

Elshadai Negash for the IAAF

Ethiopia’s squad for Beijing 2008

MEN

1500m: Derese Mekonnen, Mulugeta Wondimu, Mekonnen Gebremedhin, Demma Daba

3000m Steeplechase: Nahom Mesfin, Roba Gari, Yacob Jarso

5000m: Kenenisa Bekele, Tariku Bekele, Abraham Cherkos, Ali Abdosh

10,000m: Kenenisa Bekele, Sileshi Sihine, Haile Gebrselassie, Ibrahim Jeylan

Marathon: Tsegaye Kebede, Deriba Mergia, Gudisa Shentema, Gashaw Melese

WOMEN

1500m: Gelete Burka, Meskerem Assefa

3000m Steeplechase: Zemzem Ahmed, Mekdes Bekele, Sofia Assefa

5000m: Tirunesh Dibaba, Meseret Defar, Meselech Melkamu, Belaynesh Fekadu

10,000m: Mestawet Tufa, Tirunesh Dibaba, Ejegayehou Dibaba, Wude Ayalew

Marathon: Gete Wami, Berhane Adere, Bezunesh Bekele, Dire Tune

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who do you think has a capability to win both 10k and 5k?

i said tirnesh

mesfin wrote:

who do you think has a capability to win both 10k and 5k?

i said tirnesh

the hard part for tirunesh dibaba will be beating meseret defar in the 5k

DO NOT WORRY MOTTRAM NO BODY DENAY YOU 5 TH PLACE!!

Craig Mottram unfazed by Bekele's Olympic inclusion

Craig Mottram | July 17, 2008 12:00am

Have your say!Add your comments or read what others are sayingEmail article ShareAdd to DiggAdd to del.icio.usPost to NewsVinePost to FacebookWhat are these? Printer friendly Text size+- DESPITE all the talk to the contrary, the inclusion of Kenenisa Bekele in the 5000m hasn't come as a great surprise.

All year the word coming out of Ethiopia was that Bekele would only focus on the 10,000m because, with the pollution and extreme conditions expected in Beijing, it would be very difficult for him to back up in the 5000m six days later.

They were also concerned because he'd failed to win the double in Athens - he finished second in the 5000m - and has focused just on the 10,000m at the past two world championships, winning them both.

Many would say the presence of arguably one of the greatest distance runners in history makes my task a lot harder, but we certainly don't.

In fact, my coach Nic Bideau and I believe it actually assists us because the presence of Bekele means the tone of the race will be more predictable.

Having Bekele, who holds the 5000m world record of 12min 37.35sec, in the race means the dawdling pace of last year's Osaka world championships won't be repeated.

No one in that race, including me, was brave enough or good enough to try and take it away from Bernard Lagat's superior sprinting ability.

Lagat, who had earlier won the 1500m gold medal, was handed the gold medal on a platter with his winning time 13min 45.87sec.

My attitude is that it is the Olympic Games and you want the very best to be out there.

And I can at least claim something which not many others in the field can: I have beaten Bekele in a championship race.

It was at the 2006 World Cup and I rate it as one of my greatest moments for a number of reasons.

I'd found it tough that year following the amazing high of running at the Commonwealth Games at home.

I'd been struggling for motivation, but seeing I won the World Cup in 2002, I decided I wanted to defend my title.

We didn't know Bekele was running until a couple of days before the race and I remember Nic rang me with the news and I said: "So what?"

You just know you're going to go well when that is your response.

We figured he would want to go hard and I would just follow him.

After four laps I knew something good was brewing because it felt as if we were walking.

I actually remember smiling a couple of times sitting behind him because I knew he couldn't shake me and I sensed he was starting to panic.

Bekele then suddenly put on the brakes and pointed for me to take up the lead. I looked down on him and said: "Like f--- I will".

I couldn't believe I was trading barbs with the world record-holder and Olympic champion but, for once, Bekele was exposed with no pacemaker or any teammates to set the race up for him.

With 900m remaining, I decided to go because one of my strengths is being able to sustain a high pace for a long period of time.

He came with me, but was never all over me. I went for 300m and then backed off a bit.

We played this game until the final lap and at 320m mark I decided to go for it again.

As I surged along the back straight I looked up at the television screen, but I couldn't see where he was because the camera shot was straight on and he was hidden behind me somewhere.

It wasn't until I got 20m around the home bend that I saw him and he was 10m behind. It was unbelievable, so I surged again. By the time I got halfway down the straight, I knew he couldn't catch me unless I fell over.

I went to put my hand up to the crowd and stumbled a bit, which freaked me out, so I just put my head down for the line.

It was one of the great moments of my career, not just because I beat Bekele, but because I'd fought back after a tough season and produced something special.

I'm excited about the challenge of meeting him in five weeks' time.

The result went my way last time, and I'll be doing all I can to make it happen again.

Thanks Wejo!

Bump for VIPAM. VIPAM YOU DA MAN

Here VIPAM!

I knew about this Kenenisa Bekele prediction but someone mentioned you predicting over two and half years in advance that Tirunesh and Elvan was the next 2 women to break the 30 minute barrier? How did you know that when one never had contested the 10000m and the other had only run one numerous years prior as a teenager? Where can I find that thread I would like to read the postings?

facts wrote:

titles-- yes; records-- no...

now that they've curbed the epo thing, it will be a long time before we see 12:39 and 26:22 again...

Im sorry. Just looking over some old threads and this one made me laugh.

mo

epic prediction was epic...

the fourth or fifth poster in this thread:

"care to make it interesting???

the guy's an enormous talent, but you obviously have no idea how fast 12:39/26:22 is... i'll wager everything i own that he doesn't get either record... how about you???

"

bump for 7 year anniversary

kenny the king licking the wound after he lost to ebuya

hahaha, bekele WR 12:37, and 26:17...just about everyone was wrong.

A little pick-me-up for VIPPY