Tirunesh Dibaba to run in PreFontaine Classic

Ethiopia’s Tirunesh Dibaba, a double Olympic gold medalist, headlines an international field of talented runners with the addition of the women’s 10,000 meters to the Friday night schedule of the 38th annual Prefontaine Classic.

This year’s meet will be held June 1-2 at Hayward Field.

Admission is free on Friday, which has been named “Hollister Night at Hayward,” in honor of the late Geoff Hollister, a Nike pioneer.

The Kenyan Olympic Trials in the men’s 10,000 will also be contested that night along with several other events.

Dibaba, who sat out the 2011 season while recovering from injury, is the world record-holder in the 5,000 with a time of 14 minutes, 11.15 seconds.

She has the second-fastest time in the 10,000 at 29:54.66. She has won a combined 11 gold medals at the Olympics and World Championships.

Her 5,000-10,000 double at the 2008 Beijing Olympics was the first time a woman won both events at the same Olympics.

Dibaba, who turns 27 on June 1, is married to Sileshi Sihine, a two-time Olympic silver medalist in the 10,000.

The women’s 10,000 field includes nine competitors from Ethiopia, five from Kenya, and one who competes for Azerbaijan but was born in Ethiopia.

The lone runner without a tie to East Africa is Amy Yoder Begley, the fourth-fastest American of all-time at 31:13.78.

The 2008 Olympian was ranked No. 1 in the U.S. in 2009 and 2010 by Track & Field News magazine.

Source: The RegisterGuard.com