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Teenager shatters Great Ethiopian Run record

ADDIS ABABA: Youngster Tilahun Regassa on Sunday broke the course record for the men’s Great Ethiopian Run, upsetting favorites in the annual 10 kilometre road race. The 19-year-old shaved 30 seconds off the previous record by clocking 28 minutes 36 seconds to outrun 33,000 participants and clinch a surprise victory. “I’ve run the marathon and half-marathon before but this is my first win in a 10 kilometre race,” he told AFP. “I hope I’ll raise the Ethiopian flag in other tournaments like my fellow athletes soon,” he added. Track and long distance legend Haile Gebrselasie, who kickstarted the race with Britain’s star athlete Paula Radcliffe, said the win highlighted Ethiopia’s reputation as an “athletics factory”.

“It’s just amazing. There is so much excitement among youngsters here,” the 35-year-old two-time Olympic champion told AFP. “There is no dispute that Ethiopia is an athletics factory. You will see more and more like me in the future,” Gebrselasie added. Favorite Deriba Merga, who took fourth in the Beijing Olympics’ marathon, was not even able to conclude the race, while last year’s winner Chala Dechassa fell well short of a podium finish this time around. In the women’s race, 23-year-old Koreni Jelila also broke the course record with 33 minutes and three seconds, more than 40 seconds faster than the previous record set in 2007. The Great Ethiopian Run has revealed some of the world’s greatest long-distance runners.

The annual race, regarded as a key stepping stone for Ethiopian athletes, has been held since 2001. Past winners include Gebrselassie and the women’s current Olympic 5,000m and 10,000m champion Tirunesh Dibaba. Last year’s edition however, was marred by reported terrorist threats in the capital which prompted the US and Dutch governments to advise their citizens against taking part. afp

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