Just two days after Ethiopian-born Dutchwoman Sifan Hassan broke a five-year-old world record in the 10 000m by 10.63 seconds, Letesenbet Gidey went one better.
Hassan, 28, had run at a blistering pace clocking 29:06.82 in Hengelo, Netherlands on Sunday. She even lapped some of her competition twice before winning the race.
However, her record lasted only 48 hours before 23-year-old Gidey bettered it by five seconds.
Gidey, who is Ethiopian, ran the distance on the same track in just 29:01.03. The time was more than enough to secure a place in her country’s Olympic team.
As for Hassan, she had taken off more than 10 seconds from Ethiopian Almaz Ayana’s record that stood for half a decade.
In 2019 in Doha, the Dutch runner became the first athlete to win both 1 500m and 10 000m races at a world championship.
Late last year, Gidey broke the 5 000m world record in Valencia. She is the first woman to hold both records since Ingrid Kristiansen in 1993.
