Defar secures Berlin ticket with a sub-30 run in Birmingham

Ethiopia Meseret Defar has qualified to run the 10,000m at the World Championships in Berlin next month after clocking a superb 29:59.20 at the Aviva World Trials & UK Championships held inside the Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium.

Meseret Defar defied the pouring rain to become only the fifth woman to break 30 minutes as she smashed Paula Radcliffe’s UK all-comers’ record by nearly 28 seconds.

In a bid to secure a spot on the Ethiopian team for the 10,000m, as Ethiopia does not hold trials in the event, Defar needed to run faster than the 30:11.87, the third fastest qualifying time already posted by her compatriot Ayalew Wude.

And the 25-year-old produced one of the finest displays of distance running ever seen on a British athletics track as she recovered from 15:05.56 at half way point to produce a sub-2:48 last kilometre.

Defar said: "Now I can run both events in Berlin. I am so happy today because I ran sub-30 for the first time. I was so disappointed to see the wind and rain but I battled hard.
 
"I thought it would be difficult when the rain started but the feeling in the stadium was so good and that’s what did it for me. Someday I will come back again. Thank you."
 
Ethiopia's Aheza Kiros was second in 31:21.22 and Kenya’s Lineth Chepkurui also secured her Berlin place with a personal best of 31:31.92 in third position.

Defar began the 2009 athletics season with further improvements upon her personal bests, setting a new 5000 m world indoor record of 14:24.37 and an indoor world best over two miles (3.2 km) with a 9:06.26 run in Prague.