Obiri, Dibaba clash set for Eugene leg
Athletics
By
IAAF
| May 09, 2018
Hellen Obiri and Genzebe Dibaba headline a titanic race in the Prefontaine Classic women’s 5,000m, the third stop of the 2018 IAAF Diamond League, on May 26.
Obiri won last year’s World Championships and IAAF Diamond League Trophy in the 5,000m, but Dibaba has come back from an off year with an historic 1,500/3,000m double-gold performance at the World Indoor Championships in March.
They are two of only five women to break 14:20 in the 5,000m and both have set multiple Pre Classic records.
Their clash of skills includes speed – Dibaba owns the 1,500m world record – and they will have unique company in Dutchwoman Sifan Hassan, last year’s world leader in the 1,500m who won gold at the 2016 World Indoor Championships and now trains in Oregon.
This is the first time all three race together in the 5,000m distance.
Dibaba, 27, won the 5,000m in Eugene for the second time by over 10 seconds. In 2015, she outran the pacesetters and clocked 14:19.76, the fastest ever run in the US.
Obiri, 28, is the Kenyan record holder in the 5,000m, an event she took up seriously only after childbirth in 2015.
Her career best of 14:18.37 puts her at No. five on the all-time world list. Last month she won the Commonwealth Games 5,000m but was a distant 14th in the Doha 3,000m last Friday.
Hassan, 25, has successfully entered new territory again as she continues to illustrate impressive range. Three weeks before her world 5,000m bronze last year, she lowered her 800m best to 1:56.81.
Three weeks after London, she finished as runner-up in the Diamond League 1,500m final to Faith Kipyegon. In March, she joined Dibaba as an indoor double medallist in the 1,500m and 3,000m.
As usual, the Pre Classic women’s 5,000m also brings an exciting cross-section of talent from around the world, some making their debut in the distance and/or at Hayward Field, and some returning to a place of past success.
The Kenyan contingent includes Margaret Chelimo, 25, who was fifth in last year’s World Championships and second in the Commonwealth 5,000m last month.
Lilian Rengeruk, 21, was the bronze medallist at last year's World Cross Country Championships and the Kenyan national 5,000m title.
Alice Aprot was fourth in the Rio Olympics 10,000m.