Ethiopian stars Aman, Dibaba set to dazzle at IDL Doha 2014
Doha: World 800 metres champion Mohamed Aman of Ethiopia is the latest star to join the field of the IDL Doha 2014, the kick-off of the 14-meeting IAAF Diamond League series on Friday.
Aman, who raced to world championships gold in Moscow last summer, successfully defended his world indoor 800m title in Sopot, Poland two months ago.
The Ethiopian record holder is the last man to have beaten world record holder and Olympic champion David Rudisha, who was forced to withdraw from Friday’s race due to injury.Aman is the latest name to join the invasion that overwhelms Doha every May.
It’s a friendly incursion, one in which the leading roles are played by Kenyan and Ethiopian middle and long distance forces who either simply come and dominate an event on their own or settle their rivalry scores on the track of the Qatar Sports Club.
First, the rivalry.
This year it’ll likely be at its most apparent in the women’s 3,000 metres where Genzebe Dibaba will set out to continue a break-out year in which she’s already set two world records.
The 23-year-old Ethiopian shattered world indoor standards at both 1,500 and 3,000 metres in February; in the latter with a performance the world hasn’t seen in more than two decades, indoors or out.