Posted: February 21, 2007

Athletics: Defar To Hit The Roads In Puerto Rico

From David Monti © 2007 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com The fastest woman ever at 5000m, Ethilopian Meseret Defar, will make a rare road racing appearance at the World's Best 10-K this Sunday in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the IAAF reported today. It will equal the longest known competitive effort of her career on any surface and will be her 10-K road racing debut. Defar, the Race Results Weekly Runner of the Year for 2006, could very well have her eye on the USD 100,000 bonus the organizers are offering for a world record on the out-and-back course. The record, 30:21 set by Briton Paula Radcliffe at the same race in 2003, is certainly possible for Defar who is one of only two women who have run sub-14:25 for 5000m on the track. The 23 year-old, who won the Olympic 5000m gold medal in Athens in 2004, set the world record at that distance in New York City last June (14:24.53) and set the world record for 5-K on the road in Carlsbad last April (14:46). With her 8:23.72 pending world indoor 3000m record set just 17 days ago in Stuttgart, Defar certainly seems primed to take a stab at Radcliffe's mark. "I have a lot of recovery time before the track season begins," Defar told correspondent Elshadai Negash who wrote the report at IAAF.org. "I want to challenge myself over a new distance and I have been doing some sessions in the last week to help me adapt to the longer distance." The World's Best 10-k does not offer appearance money, according to race director Rafael Acosta, but is rich in prize money and bonuses. In addition to the possibilityof receiving $100,000 for the world record, the male and female winners each receive $25,000 for first place, the largest first prize of any 10-K in the world. Moreover, there are $15,000 time bonuses for both men and women --regardless of finish place-- if they break 28:00 or 31:00, respectively. Therefore, if Defar wins the race in a new world record she would earn a total of $140,000. Dutchwoman Lornah Kiplagat should offer Defar a strong challenge; she's won the World's Best 10-K four times, including the last three in a row and, as the 2006 IAAF World Road Running champion, is literally the best road racer in the world. Defar, however, is not flinching. "I am afraid of no one," Defar was quoted as saying. Subscribe to the Runner's Web Weekly Digest