Tirunesh Dibaba Takes on 2-Mile Again in Boston

American 1500m medalist Matt Centrowitz also set for New Balance Indoor Grand Prix on Feb. 2 

BOSTON (Jan. 17, 2013) ­ Triple Olympic Champion Tirunesh Dibaba and 2011 World Championships bronze medalist Matthew Centrowitz will compete at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix on Feb. 2, organizers announced today.  Dibaba will race over two miles, while Centrowitz will run the mile.

Tickets for the 18th-annual Olympic-style event are on sale now at http://www.nbindoorgrandprix.com or by calling 1-877-849-8722.

³I¹m looking forward to launching my 2013 season in one of my favorite cities,² said Dibaba, one of the most-decorated female athletes in the history of the sport.  The World Indoor Record for two miles, held by Meseret Defar, is 9:06.26.

Now 27, Dibaba won her first IAAF World Championships title when she was just 17. A familiar sight in Boston over the years, the Ethiopian superstar began a comeback from injury here last year that culminated in winning two Olympic gold medals ­ gold at 10,000 meters and bronze at 5000 meters ­ to add to the two gold medals she won in Beijing in 2008 and the bronze from 2004. The versatile distance star has also earned a total of eight senior World Championships titles on the track and in cross country, and has set three World Records, including two in Boston: In 2005, she broke the World Indoor Record at 5000 meters here, then came back to the Reggie Lewis Center two years later and broke it again. She currently owns the outdoor World Record at 5000 meters.

In 2011, his bronze medal run at the IAAF World Championships made Matthew Centrowitz the first US collegiate athlete ever to win a World Championships medal at 1500 meters. He followed up this breakthrough performance with a fourth-place finish in the 2012 London Olympic final, missing another bronze medal by just .04 seconds. Known for his deceptively long and well-timed finishing kick, Centrowitz won the 2011 NCAA 1500 meter title for the University of Oregon.

Dibaba and Centrowitz join previously announced Olympic medalists Aries Merritt, Jenn Suhr, Galen Rupp and Dejen Gebremeskel as well as high school distance phenom, Mary Cain.

The 18th-annual meet is the first stop in USA Track & Field¹s Championship Series.  It begins at 5 p.m. on Feb. 2 at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center at Roxbury Community College. Tickets and meet information can be found on-line at www.nbindoorgrandprix.com or by calling 1-877-849-8722.

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