Defar destroys World best in Brussels

[Ryan]

Brussels, Belgium - Meseret Defar’s slicing up of her own World best for the Two Miles was the performance of the night at the King Baudouin Stadium at the 31st edition of the Memorial Van Damme - IAAF Golden League.

A sell-out crowd of 47,500 also witnessed the confident continuation of the US$ 1 Million Jackpot quests of Sanya Richards and Yelena Isinbayeva, who now have just one more meeting victory to accomplish to secure their IAAF Golden League prize.

8:58.58 for the women’s Two Miles! A race seldom run, and not an official World record distance but a runner who takes over 11 seconds off the existing fastest time for any event very much deserves the standing ovation of the ferocity and noise which greeted Meseret Defar’s performance tonight. Alone for about 1300 metres of the race, the World and Olympic 5000m champion’s assault on her own World best for the distance (9:10.47 – Carson, USA 10 May 2007) was determined and totally committed. Appropriately in that regard her name in Amharic means ‘bold’.

IAAF article