Meseret Defar News

At a gala dinner party held at the national palace to honour world athletics championship heroes, double champion Kenenisa Bekele received a special award for his unprecedented achievements.

The Ethiopian national athletics squad at the Thessaloniki, Greece IAAF/VTB Bank World Athletics Championship has returned home after a triumphant performance and quick revenge over arch rival Kenya.

Dathan Ritzenhein Is in 'Rocky 4 Mode' Training for World Half-Marathon The World Half Marathon Championships are in Birmingham, England, on October 11 and "going into Rocky 4 mode" is how Ritzenhein describes the period close to a big race when "I want to isolate myself off like when Rocky goes to Siberia to train." This time, he says, is more ...

Carmelita Jeter, center, crosses the finish line to win the women s 100m in Thessaloniki, Greece, on Sunday.

Meseret Defar took her ninth overall World Athletics Final title as the traditional season-capping two-day meet ended its run after it's seventh edition in this sprawling northern Mediterranean city.

Two world champions, both from Kenya, will clash in this all-women's event on Sunday in Hyde Park.

Though every one agrees Berlin was the best ever IAAF World Athletics Championship, it is to three individual athletes that it owes its eternity.

" Bolt looked almost mortal - rocking and rolling down the home straight, grafting hard, and that made it almost more special " How good were the 12th IAAF World Championships? Very, very good.

On Usain Bolt 's last night of competition in Berlin, it was fitting that another world record was consigned to the ash heap of history.

'Super-Competitive' Kara Goucher Is Ready for Medal Quest in Berlin "I've been super-competitive my whole life," notes Goucher, who is among the favorites in Sunday's World Championships women's marathon.

Vivian Cheruiyot of Kenya, Meseret Defar of Ethiopia and Sylvia Kibet of Kenya compete Saturday in the women's 5,000-metre final at the world track and field championships in Berlin.

Poland's Anita Wlodarczyk is seen in action on way to breaking the world record in the women's hammer throw final at the World Championships in Berlin yesterday.

Usain Bolt made it three out of three as he helped Jamaica claim gold in the 4x100 metres relay at the world championships on Saturday in the second-fastest time ever run.

For the last time, Usain Bolt will repeat that rhetorical question he has answered over and over again at this year's world championships - "Who's faster?" As if anyone still questions what has been written on billboards and T-shirts across Berlin for weeks.

Yurika Nakamura took to the track this season to improve her speed in the marathon.

Dayron Robles clears a hurdle during his heat Tuesday. An injury may prevent Olympic champion Dayron Robles of Cuba from competing in the semifinals of the men's 110-metre hurdles at the world track and field championships.

Jennifer Oeser of Germany competes in the long jump round of the heptathlon at the 12th IAAF World Athletics Championships in Berlin, Germany, yesterday.

Linet Masai's finishing kick propelled her to victory in the 10,000 meters Saturday at the world championships, breaking Ethiopia's decade-long hold on the event.

Smiling and joking, Usain Bolt cruised into the semifinals of the 100 meters of the world championships.

Former 100 metres world record holder Asafa Powell of Jamaica leaves a media briefing room at the team hotel in Berlin, yesterday.