These are certainly not the best of times for World Record (WR) holder in the 1500m, Genzebe Dibaba as the Ethiopian sensation’s woes have been compounded, following her inability to complete her first outdoor race of the season.
The World Indoor Record holder in the Mile had delayed making her outdoor debut for some time now, pulling out of the IAAF Diamond League meetings in Eugene and Oslo due to her lack of fitness, as well as the Dubai President’s Cup meet where she would have made her debut in the 10,000m.
She finally opened her season at a meeting in Barcelona on Thursday, June 30, where she competed in the 5000m. However Dibaba dropped out from the race after 3600m and eventually had to be conveyed from the track on a wheelchair after she was offered medical assistance.
Her compatriot Letesenbet Gidey won the race in 14:45.63. This is happening just 10 days after Dibaba’s Somali coach Jama Aden was arrested by the Spanish police on suspicion of possessing EPO and other banned substances. He was eventually released and the charges against him dropped.
It is very obvious that the Beijing 2015 Bronze medallist in the 5000m is still a shadow of herself, and it remains to be seen if she would be in a position to compete at the forthcoming Olympic Games in Rio.
Older sibling Tirunesh Dibaba was also in for a rude shock as she was handed her first defeat in the 10,000m (where she holds the WR) by Almaz Ayana who stormed to victory at the Ethiopian Olympic Trials in Hengelo with the fastest time ever recorded in a debut, clocking a World Lead (WL) of 30:07.00. Gelete Burka was 2nd in 30:28.47, and Dibaba 3rd with 30:28.53.
