Marathon News - Distance Stars Shine in Stockholm

Aug-8-2007

Distance Stars Shine in Stockholm
by David Monti
(c) Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved

Many of the sport's middle and long distance stars shined at last night's DN Galan meeting in Stockholm, an IAAF Super Grand Prix event.

Kenenisa Bekele dominated the men's 3000m, running the fastest time of the year and winning by about ten seconds. The Ethiopian's 7:25.79 clocking made him the #6 performer of all-time, and he has run the three fastest times in the world this year at this distance. He is gearing up for his title defense at 10,000m at the IAAF World Championships in Osaka, the only event he will contest at those championships according to his manager, Valentijn Trouw. Second place went to Jonas Cheruiyot of Kenya in 7:35.44.
American Matt Tegenkamp ran his fastest 3000m of the season, finishing fourth in 7:35.68.

American Deena Kastor won the women's 5000m in 14:52.21, perhaps a birthday gift to husband Andrew who turned 30 yesterday. Her time was only slightly off of her personal best of 14:51.62 set on the same track back in 2000.
Like Bekele, Kastor will contest the 10,000m in Osaka.

Paul Kipsiele Koech of Kenya ran this year's first sub-8:00 steeplechase, winning the event easily in 7:59.42 over Sweden's Mustafa Mohamed (8:07.83).

Briton Michael Rimmer won the men's 800m in 1:45.17 over Kenya's Richard Kiplagat (1:45.50), and Kenyan-born Belal Mansoor Ali of Bahrain won the 1000m in 2:15.23 over Mbulaeni Mulaudzi of South Africa (2:15.86). American Bernard Lagat, who will double in the 1500m and 5000m at the World Championships, finished third in 2:16.25, a career best.

The best performances of the meet fell outside of the RRW universe.
American Jeremy Wariner ran a sizzling 43.50 for 400m, the fastest time in the world since Michael Johnson's 43.18 world record in 1999, and Croatia's Blanka Vlasic cleared 2.07m in the high jump; only world record holder Stefka Kostadinova has jumped higher outdoors.