The first time I saw Tirunesh Dibaba race was in St. Denis, France, at the 2003 World Championships. Tirunesh Dibaba came onto the world stage, not with a whimper, but with a blast of speed that shocked her watchers. The child like face, the light as air stride, followed by the lightning strike of her kick, has given her the moniker, The Baby-Faced Killer.
Tirunesh Dibaba has had much success over the 15k and half marathon distance. Alas, the winter of training for the Virgin London Marathon, which would have been her debut over the distance, has caused her shins to act up, forcing her to withdraw from the 2013 Virgin London marathon. Dibaba notes that, however, she will debut over the distance in 2014.
We look forward to that revelation….
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2013 Virgin London Marathon
Press Release
For immediate release: Thursday 14 March 2013
DIBABA WITHDRAWS FROM
LONDON MARATHON WITH SHIN INJURY
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Tirunesh Dibaba has pulled out of the 2013 Virgin London Marathon with a shin injury.
The Ethiopian triple Olympic track champion was due to make her debut over 26.2 miles in London on 21 April but has been forced to postpone her move up to the marathon because a previous problem with her lower leg re-emerged during training.
She said: “I have been in training for the London Marathon, but the increase in mileage has caused a flare up of my previous lower leg injury.
“As a result, I won’t be able to compete in this year’s London Marathon but I look forward to making my marathon debut there next year.”
Dibaba retained her Olympic 10,000m title at London 2012 last summer and added a bronze in the 5000m after winning both events at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. She has also bagged four gold medals at World Championships and five World Cross Country titles in an illustrious career.
She won the Great North Run half marathon last September and was aiming to become the first Ethiopian since her cousin Derartu Tulu in 2001 to win the women’s race at the London Marathon.
Dibaba’s withdrawal leaves Olympic champion Tiki Gelana to spearhead the Ethiopian challenge at her first London Marathon. Gelana will face World Champion Edna Kiplagat of Kenya, plus World and Olympic silver medallist Priscah Jeptoo in a race featuring five women who have completed the distance in less than two hours 20 minutes.
London Marathon race director Hugh Brasher said: “Of course, it is disappointing to lose Tirunesh. She has been such a fantastic athlete on the track, and everyone was full of anticipation to see how well she performed in a marathon, so we would be naturally delighted to see her return to London in 2014 as part of the London Marathon elite field.
“We still have a fantastic women’s race in prospect, however, with the Olympic and World Champions going head-to-head, and so many winners from major city marathons around the world.”
The women’s elite field for the 2013 Virgin London Marathon:
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Personal Best |
| Tiki Gelana (Ethiopia) |
2:18:58 |
| Lucy Kabuu (Kenya) |
2:19:34 |
| Yoko Shibui (Japan) |
2:19:41 |
| Florence Kiplagat (Kenya) |
2:19:44 |
| Edna Kiplagat (Kenya) |
2:19:50 |
| Priscah Jeptoo (Kenya) |
2:20:14 |
| Meselech Melkamu (Ethiopia) |
2:21:01 |
| Atsede Baysa (Ethiopia) |
2:22:03 |
| Yukiko Akaba (Japan) |
2:24:09 |
| Remi Nakazato (Japan) |
2:24:28 |
| Jéssica Augusto (Portugal) |
2:24:33 |
| Alevtina Biktimirova (Russia) |
2:25:12 |
| Mai Ito (Japan) |
2:25:26 |
| Chika Horie (Japan) |
2:26:11 |
| Renee Baillie (USA) |
2:27:17 |
| Olga Dubovskaya (Belarus) |
2:28:08 |
| Freya Ross (Great Britain) |
2:28:10 |
| Adriana da Silva (Brazil) |
2:29:17 |
| Joyce Chepkirui (Kenya) |
Debut |
| Helen Clitheroe (Great Britain) |
Debut |
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Larry Eder has had a 52-year involvement in the sport of athletics. Larry has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach, magazine publisher, and now, journalist and blogger. His first article, on Don Bowden, America's first sub-4 minute miler, was published in RW in 1983. Larry has published several magazines on athletics, from American Athletics to the U.S. version of Spikes magazine. He currently manages the content and marketing development of the RunningNetwork, The Shoe Addicts, and RunBlogRun. Of RunBlogRun, his daily pilgrimage with the sport, Larry says: "I have to admit, I love traveling to far away meets, writing about the sport I love, and the athletes I respect, for my readers at runblogrun.com, the most of anything I have ever done, except, maybe running itself." Also does some updates for BBC Sports at key events, which he truly enjoys.
Theme song: Greg Allman, " I'm no Angel."
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by Larry Eder
