Ethiopia’s Genzebe Dibaba targets mile and 1,500-meter world records
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Ethiopian distance runner Genzebe Dibaba will target two world records in one week, the IAAF announced on Thursday.
Dibaba will race the mile at the ExxonMobil Bislett Games in Oslo on June 9, where she will attempt to break the women’s mile world record of 4:12.56. The current record was set in 1996 by Svetlana Masterkova of Russia.
After the meet, she will head to Stockholm where she will try to lower her own 1500 meter world record on June 16.
Last July, Dibaba raised eyebrows with her solo 3:54.11, 1,500-meter run in Barcelona. She went on to set a new world record of 3:50.07 at the Monaco Diamond League meeting just one week later. Dibaba’s time broke a 22-year-old world record of 3:50.46 by Qu Yunxia of China set in September 1993.
Watch Dibaba's world record run in Monaco last summer:
[youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Acgm0IOEs]
• Coach: Genzebe Dibaba was in 3:48 shape for 1,500-meter world record
Dibaba won IAAF Athlete of the Year honors last year. She is coming off an indoor season where she set the mile world record of 4:13.31 in February. She also won gold at 3,000 meters at March's world indoor championships.
- Chris Chavez
