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(AP Photo/Keystone Dominique Favre)
Kenenisa Bekele may receive a huge check this Friday at the sixth and final meet of the IAAF Golden League. Bekele will be racing the 5000 meters at the Memorial Van Damme meet in Brussels. Should he win the race, he may be pocketing up to $1 million dollars.
The IAAF Golden League, which includes six meets over the course of the summer, offers one of the largest cash prizes in athletics. In order to claim the million-dollar purse, an athlete must win their event in all six Golden League meets.
Kenenisa Bekele is one of three athletes still in the running for the jackpot. Sanya Richards and Yelena Isinbayeva have also won their respective events. If all three athletes win in Brussels, they will split the million-dollar jackpot, which is still a pretty hefty payday.
Bekele has attracted a great deal of attention over the summer for his dominating performances. He won both the 10000 and 5000 meters at the IAAF World Championships in Berlin, and many have called him the greatest distance runner of all time. Just yesterday, Ian Chadband at the Telegraph said, "Bekele is the Bolt of distance running, a record breaker, a ground breaker, a supreme champion who is well nigh unbeatable when he chooses." Most believe that Bekele will move up to the marathon, where he could very likely be a contender to break Haile Gebrselassie's world record.
So will Bekele win his share of the jackpot on Friday? It's not smart to bet against him. On Friday, you can watch the action in Brussels on the live feed at UniversalSports.com, which starts at 12:50 p.m. in Dallas.
For more info: IAAF Golden League
Comments
"Bekele is the Bolt of distance running, a record breaker, a ground breaker"
WHAT A FUNNY AND RIDICULOUS COMMENT!!!!
Bolt just arrived into the scene. WHILE kenenisa has been breaking records and winning golds for many years!! so how is Kenenisa being defined in terms of Bolt?? WHAT A HYPOCRISY!!! Bolt has less individual golds in Olympics, worlds and every race outthere compared to Kenenisa!!
the phrase should be....Bolt is trying to become "the Kenenisa of sprint running"
but Bolt still has to keep winning more golds and keep his 0.02 edge in 100meters alive for many years, without being caught with drugs, in order to be compared with the great Kenenisa!!
It is really a shame that they glorify Bolt this way!! ridiculous!!
Thanks for your comment, Dave.
I think with that comment, Ian Chadband is comparing their celebrity. Bekele is the "celebrity" of distance running, just like Bolt is the "celebrity" at short distance. If you read his whole article, he talks about what you are saying -- Bekele is an amazing runner, but for some reason doesn't attract the same attention as Bolt.
Right on, Dave. You couldn't have said it better. I read the Ian Chadband's article; it's not bad, but the title was indeed very unfortunate.
Good write up. Both are great athletes, but Kenenisa has more records, and remarkable achievements for many years now. Bolt appeared since last year's Olympics and has to do more to much Kenenisa's record. Then, I think,the comparison may be logical.
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