Day 7 Summary

Women's 5000M
The Ethiopian plan was to again try something that did not work for them in the 10,000M. The Kenyan plan was to again try something that worked for them in the 10,000M. Guess which plan worked? In a slow race and the Ethiopians again seemed content to wait and out kick the Kenyans. It was no secret that the Kenyan women and Vivian Cheruiyot in particular can out kick the Ethiopian women so why the Ethiopian team did not come up with a anther plan is beyond me. It's better to try something new and fail rather than fail doing things you know have a high probability of failure. Who is going to be held accountable for this mess? I suspect no one.

Going into London, the Ethiopian women's team does not look good. The Kenayan women's team is better trained and better coached. There is no guarantee that Tirunesh Dibaba will return to her former form. Even if she does there is no guarantee that she can beat Vivian Cheruiyot.

The Ethiopian Women leave Daegue with just one bronze. The worst finish since 1997.

Women's 800M Semifinals
Fantu Magiso did not make it to the finals but she should be proud of her performance. Fantu set a national record in her heat. She looked very fluid and was with the leaders into the final stretch. It is very difficult to make the finals of the 800M but Fantu has the talent to do that. She was a finalist in the 400M. One does not make it to the finals 400 by luck. Fantu belongs among the world class runners. She is a strong runner that is still raw. She needs to be consistent with her technique. All the runners are consistent. She needs to spend time in the weight room. She also needs to gain more experience.

Of all the Ethiopian Women Fantu is the only one that met or exceeded expectations.