ETHIOPIAN RUNNER Genzebe Dibaba shone like a diamond at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Monaco on Friday (July 17).
Dibaba achieved what many had believed to be unachievable, breaking the 1500m world record with a time of 3:50.07.
Qu Yunxia’s mark of 3:50.46, set at the 1993 National Games, was considered to be one of the toughest world records on the books. But in a perfectly judged race, world indoor 800m champion Chanelle Price paced Dibaba through 400m in 1:00.31 and 800m in 2:04.52 before leaving the Ethiopian to finish.
Dibaba still had European champion Sifan Hassan for company as she passed the bell in 2:50.3, but the two-time world indoor champion kicked hard.
With 100m left to run, it became clear that Dibaba was, at the very least, going to get close to the world record. But she charged for the line, crossing it in 3:50.07 on the Omega clock to become the fastest 1500m runner in history.
A happy Dibaba said post race: “The pacemaker did a great job,” said Dibaba. “I’m the first athlete from Ethiopia to break the world record in the 1500m; that is amazing.
“I think Tirunesh will be happy, all of Ethiopia will be happy,” added Dibaba of her older sister, who recently gave birth to her first child.
“I knew from the beginning that I could break the record and I feel like I can still improve. I’ll try to break the 5000m world record after the World Championships in Beijing.”
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