byLarry Eder
World Record Under Assault at Sunday’s Carlsbad 5000
· Ethiopia’s Genzebe Dibaba to make debut on the roads at ‘World’s Fastest 5K’
· Deena Kastor, Brenda Martinez lead U.S. runners at one of road racing’s iconic events
· Elite invitational races to feature new start line and two-loop route on Sunday, march 29
CARLSBAD, Calif. – March 24, 2015 – Recognized as the ‘World’s Fastest 5k’ with a storied history of 16 world records, the Carlsbad 5000 will celebrate 30 years running on Sunday, March 29. The athlete with the best chance for a world record this year is 24-year-old Ethiopian Genzebe Dibaba.
Dibaba has contributed to her family’s amazing athletic accomplishments and put herself in a category with two of track and field’s legends, Jesse Owens and Usain Bolt. The younger sister of three-time Olympic gold medalist Tirunesh Dibaba, Olympic silver medalist Ejagaychi Dibaba and the cousin of Olympic champion Derartu Tulu, will try and add to her remarkable resume Sunday, when she aims for her fifth world record in her debut on the roads.
Not only is she hoping to win, she also will be trying to break the world record of 14:46 set by another Ethiopian, Meseret Defar, at Carlsbad in 2006.
“I know the world record is tough, but I want to come and break it,” Genzebe said.
“If she comes here healthy and in good shape, she’ll break the record,” said Matt Turnbull, elite athlete coordinator for the event.
If Genzebe accomplishes her goal, it would be her fifth world record in just over a year and make her a Carlsbad winner, just like Tirunesh in 2005.
Genzebe began her sensational assault on the world record books on Feb. 1, 2014, at Karlsruhe, Germany, winning an indoor 1500 meters in 3:55.17, chopping more than three seconds off the previous mark. Five days later, at Stockholm, Sweden, Genzebe improved the world indoor record in the 3000 to 8:16.60, 30 seconds better than her personal best and more than seven seconds quicker than the world mark. Then, onFeb. 15, at Birmingham, England, she set the world indoor two-mile record of 9:00:48, six seconds faster than the old mark.
That made her only one of three athletes to set three world records in three different events in 15 days, joining Owens and Bolt in that feat. And she is the only one to perform that feat in three different cities and meets and all in individual events.
This year, on Feb. 19 at Stockholm, Genzebe gained her fourth world record, winning an indoor 5000 in 14:18.86.
With that kind of background, Genzebe is a prohibitive favorite to win her debut in the Carlsbad 5000, her first race on the roads. However, her task might not be that easy, since some formidable challengers await her.
There’s 42-year-old Deena Kastor of Mammoth Lakes, Calif., who set the American 5000 road record of 14:54 in 2002 at Carlsbad and will be aiming to break that mark again. She also will be chasing the world Masters record of 15:48 established by Colleen De Reuck in 2004. Kastor also won at Carlsbad in 2000.
“I always have high expectations going into a race,” Kastor said. “This year, I am looking to run fast. I’ve lowered my mileage considerably and have been working on my speed, so I may be prepared to run about15:30.”
Another top contender should be Brenda Martinez, 27, of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., the bronze medalist at 800 meters at the 2013 World Championships whose best 5K is 13:44 while finishing fifth at last year’s Carlsbad race.
Also, there’s Sentayehu Ejigu, a 30-year-old Ethiopian, the world indoor 3,000-meter bronze medalist who finished fourth over 5,000 meters at consecutive world championships and was third at Carlsbad in 2006.
A signature event of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series, the Carlsbad 5000 will celebrate 30 years the weekend of March 27 – 29, 2015. The race is internationally known as the “World’s Fastest 5K” because 16 world records, 8 U.S. records, along with numerous national and age-group records have been set on the scenic oceanfront course. The event annually attracts amateur, competitive and professional runners from around the world and is home to the current world 5K road records:13:00, Sammy Kipketer (KEN), 2000 & 2001, and 14:46, Meseret Defar (ETH), 2006. It is the only race from a commonly run distance in the world that is home to the world records and its home country records for both genders.
Event weekend kicks off with a Junior Carlsbad pre-registration party on Friday, March 27 hosted at the Carlsbad Village Faire. On Saturday, March 28 more than 1,500 junior racers, age 12 and under, will take part in one of the eleven age group races. All runners receive a t-shirt and finisher’s medal for their efforts. Sunday’s ‘Party by the Sea’ gets started as soon as the first runners cross the finish line. After enjoying the scenic 3.1-mile course, runners aged 21 and over can step into the beer garden, sip two free beers from Pizza Port and enjoy
a live music. For more information or to view the full race day schedule, visit Carlsbad5000.com.
2015 Elite Women’s Field
CHIP#, NAME, COUNTRY, CAREER HIGHLIGHT, BIRTHDAY
F1, Genzebe Dibaba, Ethiopia, Road race debut but she set 5000m indoor world record last month, 02/08/1991
F2, Deena Kastor, USA, Set the U.S. record at Carlsbad in 2002 posting 14.54 which still stands, 02/14/1973
F3, Betsy Saina, Kenya, 2012 African 10000m bronze medalist, 05/30/1988
F4, Brenda Martinez, USA, Won the Bronze medal at the 2013 World Championships over 800m, 09/08/1987
F5, Wude Yimer, Ethiopia, Bronze medalist over 10000m at the 2009 World Championships in, 07/04/1987
F6, Morgan Uceny, USA, One of the top middle distance runners in the United States, 03/10/1985
F7, Margaret Chelimo, Kenya, Road race debut having predominately on track over 800m and 1500m, 02/09/1993
F8, Gelete Burka, Ethiopia, 2013 Carlsbad 5000 champion running a PR of 15.26, 03/18/1985
F9, Jessica O’Connell, Canada, Has set PR’s indoors over 1500m and 3000m this year, 02/10/1989
F10, Susan Kuijken, Netherlands, Won bronze medal at 2014 European Championships over 5000m, 07/08/1986
F11, Sarah Brown, USA, Former NCAA Indoor Champion for the mile runner her first road 5K race, 10/15/1986
F12, Miyuki Uehara, Japan, Asian Junior Cross Champion in 2012 making her road race debut, 11/22/1995
F13, Violah Lagat, Kenya, Bernard’s younger sister has a 15:35 best for 5000m, 03/01/1989
F14, D’Ann Arthur, USA, An accomplished triathlete with several titles to her name, 06/22/1987
F15, Katie Matthews, USA, BAA athlete has run 5K on the roads on three occasions, 11/19/1990
F16, Juliet Bottorffm, USA, 2011 NCAA Champion over 10000m running for the BAA, 01/21/1991
F17, Stephanie Bruce, USA, Has has a 5000m best time on the roads of 15:59, 01/14/1984
F18, Sarah Pagano, USA, BAA athlete has a best road 5000m time of 15:54, 07/23/1991
F19, Annie Beck, USA, Ran 16.18 for her personal best 5k last year, 11/08/1987
