IAAF Worlds preview: Women's 5000m

That this event will chiefly be a battle between Ethiopia and Kenya is no great surprise - after all the two countries occupy the top 11 places on the World Lists. Possibly more of a shock, though, has been the relatively low-key nature of an event which has yet to truly ignite this season.
Maybe the Olympic Stadium in Berlin will be the place where we will truly see the 12-and-a-half lap event come to the boil.

The fastest in the world this year is Tirunesh Dibaba, the 2003 and 2005 World champion and Olympic gold medallist from Beijing last year. Dibaba suffered injury in the winter and has raced just twice all season in her tentative return to action. In her first race back she suffered a rare defeat to Kenya's Linet Masai in New York but the World record holder looked more like her old self in London with victory in a season leading 14:33.65. Ethiopia has, however, named a team of five for this event and it is uncertain as to whether Dibaba will definitely run in the 5000m. She is also entered in the 10,000m.

Should Dibaba decide to compete, her erstwhile rival the defending World champion Meseret Defar represents her strongest threat. Defar is unbeaten over all distances this year and defeated a strong field in Oslo in 14:36.38 in her one outdoor 5000m appearance this season. Possibly more telling, though, was her brilliant 10,000m PB of 29:59.20 in wet conditions in Birmingham suggesting her form has moved up a notch since Oslo.

The second fastest athlete over 5000m this year is the third string Ethiopian Meselech Melkamu, who was an impressive winner in Ostrava (14:34.17). She has also recorded the second fastest time in history for the 10,000m and she may opt to solely focus on the longer event.

The Kenyan challenge is spearheaded by the 2007 World Silver medalist Vivian Cheriuyot. The diminutive Cheruiyot was outgunned by the Ethiopians in Ostrava and Oslo but remains a respected opponent.

Cheruiyot is joined on the Kenyan team by Sylvia Kibet who is earning a reputation for securing fourth place finishes. She placed in that ‘bogey' position at the 2007 World championships and last summer's Olympic Games and finished where else but fourth in a personal best time of 14:37.77 in Oslo. The third Kenyan string Iness Chenonge has a best of 14:41.62, finishing seventh in Oslo. The other two Ethiopian athletes selected for the squad are Sentayehu Ejigu, who made a big advance to record 14:40.00 for second in London, and Dibaba's younger sister Genzebe (14:55.52).

Outside of the Ethiopian and Kenya challenge the maverick Ethiopian-born Turk Elvan Abeleygesse is a dark horse. She has raced just once over the distance this season, winning in Castellon in May in a modest 15:30.47 but she is the Olympic silver medalist and a fifth place finisher in Osaka at the 2007 World championships. Kim Smith of New Zealand is the fastest non-Ethiopian and Kenyan athlete entered in the field but she too may opt to focus on the 10,000m.