MONTE CARLO (Monaco), July 30: Haile Gebrselassie had world records in the 20,000 metres and the 1-hour race ratified by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) on Monday.
The Ethiopian set the records at the Golden Spike meet in June in Ostrava, Czech Republic. In both events, he broke 16-year-old previous marks set by Arturo Barrios of Mexico in La Fleche, France.
Gebrselassie ran 21,285 metres in one hour to surpass Barrios’ mark by 184 metres. He also finished 20,000 metres in 56 min, 25.98 sec. Barrios had timed 56:55.6.
The IAAF also ratified Meseret Defar’s world record in the 5,000 metres. The Ethiopian ran 14:16.63 at the Bislett Games in Oslo, Norway, in
June to beat her own mark of 14:24.53 set in New York last year.—AP