Dibaba in head-to-head with Kiplagat at Bupa Great North Run
Tirunesh Dibaba, the Ethiopian who holds the world and Olympic 10,000m titles, will renew her keen East African rivalry with Kenya’s Edna Kiplagat when she lines up in the Bupa Great North Run on Sunday 7 September.
Kiplagat, who ran her way into the record books in Moscow last summer as the first back to back winner of the World Championship women’s marathon title, was beaten by Dibaba in a thrilling sprint finish in the 2012 Bupa Great North Run.
The tables were turned in the London Marathon in April this year, though. After Dibaba dropped a bottle at the 30k drinks station, Kiplagat pulled clear with her compatriot and namesake Florence Kiplagat, winning the 26.2 mile race in a sprint finish.
Dibaba had to settle for third place in her debut marathon but returned to winning ways in the Bupa Great Manchester Run 10k in May. The 28-year-old has not raced since then but is getting ready for what promises to be another gripping head-to-head with Kiplagat.
Dibaba has been a trailblazer in women’s distance running for more than a decade now. She became the youngest ever individual world champion when she won the global 5,000m title as an 18-year-old at the Stade de France in Paris in 2003 – earning the nickname ‘the baby faced assassin.’
Read more at: GreatRun
