Lamecha Girma, Gudaf Tsegay broke meeting records in Boston

Addis Ababa, February 5, 2024 (FBC) – Lamecha Girma and Gudaf Tsegay of Ethiopia broke meeting records in the men’s 3000m and the women’s 1500 race, respectively, at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, in Boston on Sunday on a day when nine meeting records were broken in total.

Lamecha Girma was ahead of world indoor record pace at one point, but with no opponents to help push him, the steeplechaser’s pace faded over the final few laps. Nevertheless, he finished comfortably inside the meeting record to win by 10 seconds in 7:29.09. Kenya’s Edwin Kurgat was a distant runner-up in 7:39.38.

Meanwhile, Gudaf Tsegay was pushed by younger compatriot Birke Haylom throughout the women’s 1500m, but held on to win in a US indoor all-comers’ record of 3:58.11. Haylom was second in a world U20 indoor record of 3:58.43.

Elsewhere, Ethiopia’s indoor debutante Melknat Wudu finished third in the women’s 1000m meeting, breaking the world U20 indoor record set 20 years ago by the iconic Tirunesh Dibaba.