In what is becoming an annual tradition, Ethiopian Genzebe Dibaba set another world record, this time in the women’s 2000 meteres Miting International de Catalunya meeting in Sabadell, Spain after crossing the finish line in 5:23.75.
Not only was the mark faster than Gabriela Szabo‘s former world indoor best of 5:30.53 in 1998, but it also bettered Sonia O’Sullivan‘s world record of 5:25.36, set outdoors in 1994. So, assuming the mark is ratified, Dibaba will not only own a new world indoor best but a new world record as well.
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), athletics’ world governing body, said although the 2000m is not an official indoor world record event, Dibaba’s performance was “an outright world record’’.
This is the fourth year in a row that Dibaba has set a world record indoors as she broke the indoor 1500 and 3000 records in 2014, the indoor 5000 record in 2015 and the indoor mile record last year.
According to the IAAF, Dibaba ran a slight negative split, running the first 1k in 2:42.65 and the second in 2:41.10. We timed her at an unofficial 63.9 for the final 400 and 31.7 for the final lap.
The 25 year old has two more world record attempts lined up this winter. She will try to break her indoor 1500 mark of 3:55.17 on Friday at the Copernicus Cup in Poland before taking aim at Maria Mutola‘s indoor 1,000-meter world record of 2:30.94 in Madrid on February 24.
