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He's already owns the two fastest 10,000m times in history, but reigning world and Olympic 10,000m champion Kenenisa Bekele hopes he can go even faster at next month's Prefontaine Classic meeting in Eugene, Ore. It would be his first outdoor appearance in the United States.
"The record (26:17.53) is not easy," said Bekele's Dutch manager, Jos Hermens, through a media release. "But this is an absolutely serious attempt. His training is going well, and he is 100% 'go' for the record."
The 10,000m race will be held in the morning at 9:30 on June 8, well before the regular meet begins at 12:30. Organizers feel the weather will be good at that time for a record attempt.
"We compiled 20 years of data about wind conditions, humidity, temperature—you name it," said meet director Tom Jordan. "The conditions are slightly better during the morning than the evening, and Kenenisa will have the thousands of Hayward Field fans behind him."
Bekele owns three of the top-5 10,000m marks ever recorded: #1 26:17.53 (Bruxelles, 2005), #2 26:20.31 (Ostrava, 2004), and #5 26:28.72 (Hengelo, 2005). The USA all-comers record is 27:04.20 by Kenyan Abraham Chebii set at Stanford University in 2001. The first sub-27:00 clocking in the United States would be very exciting.
Bekele, 25, is coming off of a victory in front of the home crowd in Addis Ababa at the African Championships earlier this month where he won the 5000m gold medal in a strategic race against Kenya's Isaac Songok and Ethiopian compatriot Ali Abdosh. He is expected to run the 5000m at the FBK Games in Hengelo, Netherlands, on 24-May.
The Prefontaine Classic will be held for the 34th time at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon, and will be televised live in the United States on NBC at 1:00 p.m. Pacific Time (4:00 p.m. Eastern Time) for two full hours. Hayward Field will also host the USA Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field beginning on June 27.
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