World Records Under Assault In Stockholm

Meseret Defar is going after her own mark.

The XL-Galan, an indoor track meet to be held in the Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden on Tuesday, looks to be fertile ground for several new world records. The Swedish track is famous for being incredibly fast. Throughout the history of the event a total of seven world records have been broken on it.

Abubaker Kaki from Sudan will be shooting for the world 1000m mark. That record (2:14.96) has been held by Wilson Kipketer for the past 11 years.

In the race, Kaki will be up against some fierce competition from the likes of Augustine Choge and Deresse Mekonnen. Both of these runners ran 3:33 in the 1500m in Birmingham.

In the women’s events, Ethiopian Meseret Defer is arriving to take on her own world record in the 3,000m. That mark (8:23.72) was set four years ago in Stuttgart. Defar will be up against fellow Ethiopian Sentayehu Ejigu. Last week in Birmingham, she set the current world-leading time with 8:30.26, winning the race pretty much unopposed.

For More: IAAF