Cheptegei, Gidey break long-distance world records at Spain track meet
Runners successfully use new technology to surpass long-standing marks
World champion Joshua Cheptegei broke the world record in the men's 10,000 metres on Wednesday shortly after Ethiopia's Letesenbet Gidey had set a new mark in the women's 5,000 at a specially held track meet in Valencia.
At the event dubbed "World Record Day," the two runners used the help of pacers and a specially designed lighting system along the track to successfully break the two long-standing marks.
Cheptegei crossed the line in 26 minutes, 11 seconds to break Kenenisa Bekele's mark of 26:17.53 set in Brussels in 2005.
Gidey's time of 14:06.62 was almost five seconds better than the previous record set by fellow Ethiopian Tirunesh Dibaba in Oslo in 2008.
They were both helped by the "wavelight pacing technology," with lights streaming along the track to show the pace of the previous record.
Cheptegei also broke the 5,000-metre world record in Monaco earlier this year. The Ugandan is the 10th man in history to hold the 5,000-metre and 10,000-metre world records at the same time.
