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Ethiopian Runner Dibaba Sets World Record in Women's 5,000 Meters


Ethiopian runner Tirunesh Dibaba set a new world record as she captured the women's 5,000 meter crown at the Boston Indoor Games athletics event Saturday night.

Dibaba completed the distance in a blazing time of 14 minutes, and 32.93 seconds, shaving more than six seconds off the old record set a year ago in Stuttgart, Germany by countrywoman Berhane Adere.

But Dibaba's fellow-Ethiopian, Kenenisa Bekele, made a mental error that cost him the 3,000 meter title. Still recovering from the tragic death of his fiancee, Bekele was leading when he lost track of the lap count and slowed on the final lap, thinking the race was over.

Irish runner Alistar Cragg made the most of Bekele's mistake and passed him to win the race in seven minutes and 39.89 seconds. Bekele crossed the finish line less than two seconds later (7:41.42) for second place.

Widely considered the best long-distance runner in the world, Bekele spent several weeks mourning the death of his 18-year-old bride-to-be, Alem Techale. He trained for only one week leading up to the competition.

In other results, Laban Rotich of Kenya set a new meet record in the mile with a time of three minutes and 53.18 seconds. Carolina Kluft of Sweden made her American debut by winning the women's long jump (6.63 meters). Adam Nelson of the United States won the men's shot put (21.66 meters).

Some information provided by AP.

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