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Ethiopia’s Tirunesh Dibaba has regained the World Cross Country senior title she’d won in 2005 and 2006 at the 36th IAAF World Cross Country Championships at the Holyrood Park, Edinburgh, Scotland.
With her victory over the 8km race, Dibaba, 22, is now the only athlete in history to have won a total of 14 World Cross Country gold medals. She now joins American Lynn Jennings and her cousin, Derartu Tulu, as winners of three long course titles.
And her short course win in 2005 and the junior title in 2004 put her up there with Norway’s Grete Waitz with five individual gold medals from these championships, and Worknesh Kidane as a winner of eight individual medals.
After watching here sister, Genzebe won the junior title earlier in the day, unleashed her trademark finishing kick in the Dibaba’s family style darting across in front of the grandstand to win in 25.10 seconds.
Her compatriot Mestawet Tufa was second five seconds later in 25.15 seconds whilst Kenyan 2007 junior champion Linet Masai claimed the bronze medal in 25:18.
An elated Dibaba was very happy with her family history as well as the overall Ethiopian team success in the race, despite her stomach problems.
She said: “I felt a stitch in the middle of the race and that’s when I fell back. But I recovered from that and was able to move to the front.
“I’m aware that my aunt has won this race three times so I am very happy to have done the same thing.
“In addition my younger sister was first earlier today and it was partly in order to match her that I dug in and put everything I had into it to win,” she added with a smile.