Defar leads Ethiopian team to Valencia

Submitted by Yomi Omogbeja on 6 March 2008 - 5:40pm

Ethiopia's double World indoor champion, Meseret Defar, will lead her national team comprising only seven athletes at the World Indoor Championships which kicks off tommorrow in Valencia.

Defar, world record holder in 3000 metres indoors and 5000 metres outdoors, is the great favourite for gold in the longest event of the programme.

Few weeeks back she was only four seconds short of her world record in Stuttgart (8:27.93) and her main rival will be her junior compatriot,Meselech Melkamu, who recently won the City of Valencia International Meeting with an outstanding performance (8:29.48).

Other athletes in the team are:

Tirunesh Dibaba, double world champion in 5000 and 10000 metres and world record holder in 5000m distance indoors.

Gelete Burka, current third season best performer in 3000 metres behind her teammates Defar and Melkamu but who in Valencia will run 1500 metres.

Hoewever, the absence of Kenenisa Bekele in the men's side leaves the stage in the 3000 metres for his 21-year-old younger brother, Tariku (season leader in 7:31.09, Stuttgart) and Abraham Cherkose, 18, who was the world junior silver medalist in 5000 metres in Beijing.

Full team list

Men
1500 m: Derese Mekonnen and Mekonnen Gebremedhin
3000 m: Tariku Bekele and Abraham Cherkose
Women
1500 m: Gelete Burka
3000 m: Meseret Defar and Meselech Melkamu