Bekele Going For 10K World Record At Pre
Posted Monday, 12 May, 2008
Eugene, Oregon—Reigning 10k world recordholder Kenenisa Bekele is hoping to make his first-ever outdoor appearance in the United States a memorable one. The 2004 Olympic Champion at 10,000 meters will attempt to set a new standard for that distance during the Prefontaine Classic on Sunday, June 8th at Hayward Field. His current mark is 26:17.53, set at Brussels, Belgium three years ago. That’s two sub-13:10 5ks back-to-back!
“The record is not easy,” acknowledges Bekele’s representative, Jos Hermens, from his office in the Netherlands. “But this is an absolutely serious attempt. His training is going well, and he is 100% ‘go’ for the record.”
Because the margin for error is so small with a record so good, the race will be held at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, before the start of the other events at the 34th annual Prefontaine Classic. “We compiled 20 years of data about wind conditions, humidity, temperature--you name it,” said meet director Tom Jordan. “The conditions are slightly better during the morning than the evening, and Kenenisa will have the thousands of Hayward Field fans behind him.”
The 25-year-old Ethiopian is no stranger to records or to medals. In addition to his 10k mark, Bekele holds the 5000 world record of 12:37.35, and has won gold medals at 10k in the last three World Championships.
Besides the attempt on the world record, a mark that is likely to fall is the record for the best 10k on American soil, currently held by Abraham Chebii at 27:04.20 from 2001. The first sub-27:00 run in the U.S. is also in jeopardy.
Tickets for the Prefontaine Classic are on sale now at www.goducks.com, at 1-800-WEBFOOT, and at the Casanova Center ticket office.
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