The 15th edition of the meeting, the second stop in USA Track & Field’s Visa Championship Series, takes place at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center at Roxbury Community College, Boston.

Dibaba, nicknamed the “baby face destroyer” for her devastating finishing kick, is one of the sport’s most accomplished stars.  In addition to her three Olympic medals (Beijing 10,000m – Gold, Beijing 5000m – Gold, Athens 5000m – Bronze), Dibaba owns eight World Championship titles in track and cross country from 2003 through 2008.  She did not compete at the Berlin World Championships due to a foot injury. 

Back to full health, Dibaba showcased her recent fitness with a World record performance* in her 15km Road Race debut last month in the Netherlands.  Her previous three World records have been at 5000m: the first two were set at the Reebok Boston Indoor Games (2005, 2007), and the third, which still stands, was set outdoors in Oslo in 2008.

(December 9, 2009) – Tsegaye Kebede has only been running marathons for two and a half years, but in that short span of time he has reached a level of accomplishment that no one else has in history.

With his 2:05:18 course record victory at Fukuoka – IAAF Silver Label Road Race – last Sunday, a 2:05:20 runner-up at London in April and 2:08:35 bronze medal at the Berlin World Championships, the 22-year-old Ethiopian averaged 2:06:24 in 2009, the fastest ever for three marathons in a calendar year. In fact, he did it in less than eight months.

It used to be a singular accomplishment for an elite marathoner to run a sub-2:06 marathon. With ever increasing frequency, the best in the world are now averaging such a time for multiple marathons within the same year.

Kebede’s 2009 was so superb, that he also managed to become the second fastest ever for total time of his two fastest races, 4:10:38. More