Ethiopian Dibaba signs up for high profile Ostrava athletics meeting

Ethiopia’s Genzebe Dibaba has confirmed her participation in the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting in Ostrava on September 8.

There have also been some high-quality additions to the women’s 1500m field as world record-holder Dibaba and Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon of Kenya will line up against 800m world leader Jemma Reekie of Scotland, whose participation had been previously announced.

Dibaba won gold in the 1500m at the Beijing World Championships and silver at the 2016 Rio Olympics. She set her world record of 3:50.07 in the 1500m in 2015 at the Diamond League event in Monaco. The 29-year-old also won gold in the women’s 3000m and 1500m at the World Indoor Championships in Birmingham in 2018.

Kipyegon, three years Dibaba’s junior at 26-years-old, has already won gold in the 1500m at the World Championships in 2017 and at the Rio Olympics – ahead of none other than Dibaba.

The clash between the two distance running powerhouses could mean an incredibly fast time is on the cards.

In the men’s 1500m, world indoor champion Samuel Tefera of Ethiopia will take on countryman and world indoor mile record-holder Yomif Kejelcha with both keeping an eye on Cornelius Chirchir’s (Kenya) meeting record of 3:31.17 that has stood since 2003.

At just 20, Tefera has already claimed global gold in the 2018 World Indoor Championships in the men’s 1500m. Last year he set a new indoor world record in the 1500m at World Indoor Tour event in Birmingham where he clocked 3:31.04.

In partnership with ANA and Sports Leo