Marathon News - One Hour World Record by Gebrselassie in Ostrava?

Jun-27-2007

One Hour World Record by Gebrselassie in Ostrava?
by Bob Ramsak
(c) Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved

Haile Gebrselassie added two more world records to
his illustrious collection at the Golden Spike Grand Prix tonight in
Ostrava, Czech Republic.

Knocking off consistent 67 to 68 second laps, the 23-year-old Ethiopian set
a new mark in the one hour run, covering 21,285 meters over the course of 60
minutes to break the previous best, 21,101m, set by Mexican Arturo Barrios
in La Fléche, France, on March 30, 1991.

“Today is just a fantastic day,” said a beaming Gebrselassie, who said he
knew just beyond the half-way point that the record would fall.

En route, the two-time Olympic 10,000m champion also broke the world record
for 20,000m, covering 50 laps in 56:25.98, well within the previous 56:55.6
also set by Barrios.

Look for a complete report form Ostrava later this evening.

* records pending ratification