Paris (AFP)
Burundian Francine Niyonsaba broke the 2000m world record in 5 min 21 sec 56 on Tuesday during the Zagreb meeting.
Niyonsaba, a hyperandrogenic athlete who was forced to abandon the 800 m, his preferred distance, under the rules of the International Federation, improved by more than two seconds the time achieved in 2017 by the Ethiopian Genzebe Dibaba (5 min 23 sec 75).
Even if the 2000m is not a contested event during the big championships, Niyonsaba (28 years old) settles more than ever with this feat as a sure bet in the middle distance.
Since her reconversion to long distances, the silver medalist in the 800m at the Rio Olympics in 2016 has indeed had a series of brilliant strokes.
Fifth in the 10,000 at the Tokyo Olympic Games, she became on August 28 in Paris the 5th performer in history over 3000 m before dominating twice over 5000 m, in Brussels and Zurich, the Olympic vice-champion and double Kenyan world champion (2017, 2019) Hellen Obiri.
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