Marathon News - Gebrselassie Shows Excellent Form in Hengelo

May-26-2007

Gebrselassie Shows Excellent Form in Hengelo
by David Monti
(c) Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved

It has been nearly three years since he raced on the track, but HaileGebrselassie showed excellent form tonight in Hengelo, breaking the 27minute barrier for the eighth time in his illustrious career. Gebrselassie, whose official age is 34 but many observers believe he is atleast a few years older, finished fifth in 26:52.81. The race was won byhis compatriot Sileshi Sihine who ran the second-fastest 10,000m of hiscareer: 26:48.73. Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya was third in a personal best26:49.01 and Moses Mosop was fourth in 26:49.55, also setting a personalbest. Gebrselassie has broken 27 minutes more times than any other runner. Worldrecord holder Kenenisa Bekele is next on the list with five sub-27:00clockings, while Sihine is third with four. Speaking of Bekele, he easily won the two-mile event in Hengelo, coveringthe last lap in about 55 seconds. A recent story in the Kenyan press aboutBekele's struggle to regain his form after the IAAF World Cross CountryChampionships may have overstated the depth of his problems. He clocked8:13.51 to Edwin Soi's 8:16.98. Also of note in Hengelo, was Paul Kipsiele Koech's domination of thesteeplechase, winning by more than 15 seconds in 8:01.05; and GeleteBurika's victory in the women's 5000m in 14:38.18.