Ethiopia’s world indoor champion Genzebe Dibaba broke the nearly 23-year-old women’s 1,500m world record on a sultry night at the Monaco Diamond League meeting on Friday with a time of 3 minutes, 50.07 seconds.
The younger sister of three-time Olympic gold medalist and world 5,000m record holder Tirunesh Dibaba ran the final lap on her own after the pacemaker dropped out.
China’s Qu Yunxia’s set the previous mark of 3 minutes, 50.46 seconds in Beijing on Sept. 11, 1993.
Photo: Reuters
Dibaba, 24, told a news conference she had been confident she could run a fast time in Monaco after setting an African record of 3 minutes, 54.11 seconds in Barcelona, Spain, this season.
She said that she had been concentrating on her speed this year and training with male partners, but was to still to decide whether she would run the 1,500m or 5,000m at next month’s World Championships in Beijing.
“Most of the girls cannot stay with me in training,” she said. “It just has to be guys.”
Photo: AFP
Five personal bests were set in the race and another eight in the men’s 1,500m, in which Kenyan world champion Asbel Kiprop produced a stunning display of front running to win in 3 minutes, 26.69 seconds. Only world-record holder Hicham El Guerrouj and Bernard Lagat have ever run faster.
Algeria’s Olympic champion Taoufik Makhloufi was second in a personal best of 3 minutes, 28.75 seconds, more than two seconds slower than Kiprop.
Britain’s European record holder Mo Farah, the Olympic and world champion over 5,000m and 10,000m, chased Kiprop hard, but could never close the gap and eventually finished fourth behind Morocco’s Abdelaati Iguider, who also recorded a personal best.
“At the bell ... I knew it could be a very fast time,” Kiprop said. “I admit I would have liked a faster time, but it is great and confirms my shape before Beijing.”
The next men’s race, the 800m, featured a thrilling finish in which Bosnia’s Amel Tuka came from third to first in the final 50m to edge last year’s winner and Commonwealth champion Nijel Amos of Botswana.
Tuka’s time of 1 minute, 42.51 seconds was a national record and a year’s best.
American Justin Gatlin, the fastest man in the world this year, set a meeting record in the 100m when he clocked 9.78 seconds ahead of another former world champion Tyson Gay.
It was Gatlin’s last outing on the track before his expected showdown with defending champion Usain Bolt in Beijing.
French world-record holder Renaud Lavillenie, beaten in both his past two Diamond League meetings, was a popular winner of the men’s pole vault, clearing 5.92m before failing three times at 6.02m.
Lavillenie, whose brother, Valentin, broke his hand in a training accident on Thursday, remains undefeated in Monaco after winning in 2009, 2011 and 2013.
American Joe Kovacs hurled the men’s shot put 22.56m in the second round to record the longest distance since 2003 and propel himself to eighth in the all-time list.
“Everything was clicking today,” he said. “A great warmup showed I can do something. I think I can throw even further.”
Olympic triple-jump champion Christian Taylor of the US beat Cuba’s Pedro Pablo Pichardo with a meeting record of 17.75m.
Early in the meeting, Gatlin, Gay and Trayvon Bromell combined with Mike Rodgers to take the US team to an untroubled victory in the men’s 4x100m relay with a time of 37.87 seconds.
Olympic champion Allyson Felix did not compete in the women’s 200m, but ran the second leg for the US 4x100m relay team, who clocked a season’s best of 41.96 seconds.
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