Aregawi finished in 15.15,88 and was therefore not quite close to the international World Championship qualification limit (14.50) in her first official 5,000-meter race in her career. Initially, it looked good, but the 35-year-old, who is back on the running tracks after several years of absence, weakened quickly during the second half of the race.
Now, there is one chance left to secure a ticket to the World Championship in Tokyo in September. Aregawi will compete again in the Finnkampen at Stockholm Stadium on Sunday, which is also the last day to qualify for the championship.
Abeba Aregawi won the World Championship gold for Sweden in the 1,500 meters in Moscow in 2013, but lives in Ethiopia and has not competed for the Swedish national team in several years. Her comeback is not uncontroversial.
In February 2016, she tested positive for meldonium, a substance that had just been classified as doping. Later, she was acquitted after the international doping organization Wada announced that the measured values were within the permitted limits.
The competition comeback took place last year. And this spring, Abeba Aregawi showed that she still holds a very high class. Then she ran a half-marathon in 1.06.36 – under the Swedish record. The time was however erased since Aregawi had not made herself available for doping control six months prior to the competition.
