On the last lap she was joined by the Ethiopian compatriot Birke Haylom but quickly got a gap and then it was Tsegay against the clock.
She was a few meters too late to beat Faith Kipyegon’s world record of 3.49.11 from last year. It wasn’t even an Ethiopian record for Tsegay as Genzebe Dibaba is second all-time at 3.50.07.
– I am so happy. To do this in the first race of 2024 but I knew I was in good shape. Competition is the easy part. In training, which is very tough, I can run 1,500 meters five, six times, says Tsegay, who has been better at longer distances and won WC gold in the 10,000 meters in Budapest this summer.
“Where did it come from”
She cheered and screamed after her time was up. And was able to celebrate with eight compatriots who took part in the race.
– Where did it come from? asks SVT’s commentator Niklas Nordh the expert Alhaji Jeng.
– She improves her personal record by 2.5 seconds. What a sensational race she is having. It will probably be a fight called duga against “impossible” Faith Kipyegon this summer, Jeng replies.