hope we will see the young talented issac and kenenisa competition
Monte-Carlo - Kenenisa Bekele and Tirunesh Dibaba, two of the sport’s biggest stars, will headline their respective 5000m races when the six meeting IAAF Golden League series commences in Oslo on 2 June, two weeks from today with the Exxon Mobil Bislett Games.
The young Ethiopian stars, just 23 and 20 respectively, have already collectively amassed 18 World titles on the track and in cross country in their short careers, and at Oslo’s Bislett Games, will begin their pursuit of one of the few prizes missing from their large trophy cases – a slice of the $1 million IAAF Golden League Jackpot
This year there are eleven designated Golden League Jackpot events, and athletes who win at any five of the six meetings will share a purse of $500,000, while an additional $500,000 is on offer to be shared by athletes who succeed in winning their event a sixth time.
Men – 3000m / 5000m
As has become customary since emerging on the international scene in 2003, Bekele, also the world record holder at 5000 and 10,000m and Olympic champion in the longer event, will be starting as the man to beat. But Oslo organisers have assembled a solid field of challengers who have Golden League aspirations of their own.
Leading the list is 22-year-old Isaac Songok who is off to a strong start in 2006. The Kenyan beat a strong field in the 3000 last weekend in Doha in 7:28.97, the fastest in the world thus far this year. At last year’s Golden Gala Golden League meeting in Rome, the Kenyan was victorious in the 5000, producing his first sub-13 minute performance with his 12:52.29 clocking.
Also racing in Oslo will be reigning World champion Ben Limo, who raced to a bronze medal earlier this year at the Commonwealth Games; 20-year-old Boniface Kiprop of Uganda, the Commonwealth 10,000m champion; and Olympic 10,000m bronze medallist Zersenay Tadesse of Eritrea. Not to be discounted is Bekele’s younger brother Tariku, who may finally be ready to jump from behind his brother’s shadow