OSLO, 29 June 2003 — World half-marathon champion Berhane Adere ran the second fastest women’s 5,000 meters ever on Friday to lead an Ethiopian clean sweep at the Bislett Games Golden League meeting.

Adere, the world indoor 3,000 meters record holder, clocked 14 minutes 29.32 seconds in the first of the season’s six Golden League meetings with a blistering sprint finish that left her just a second off the world record set by China’s Bo Jiang in 1997. Werknesh Kidane was second in 14:33.04 and Tirunesh Diababa third in 14:39.94, a world junior record in a race in which six Ethiopians finished in the top 10. Eight of the 17 finishers set personal bests.

Adere said she had aimed only to win the race and realized that she was on world record pace at about 3,000 meters.

Kenenisa Bekele, Ethiopia’s potential heir to world 5,000 and 10,000 meters record holder Haile Gebrselassie, won the men’s 5,000 meters in a personal best of 12:52.26. Sammy Kipketer was second in 12:52.33 and fellow-Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge third in a world junior record of 12:52.61.

In the men’s 100 meters, former world junior champion Mark Lewis-Francis of Britain upstaged compatriot and European champion Dwain Chambers to win in a time of 10.12. Lewis-Francis turned down a chance of a place at the Sydney Olympics to concentrate on the 2000 world junior championships where he won two golds.

In the women’s 100 meters, Chandra Sturrup of the Bahamas beat US champion Kelli White in a photo finish. Sturrup, the former Commonwealth Games champion, clocked 10.96 seconds, 0.01 ahead of White, who won the 100-200 double at the US championships this month.

Australia’s Commonwealth champion Jatna Pittman won the 400 meters hurdles, holding off a late challenge from current world number one Ionela Tirlea of Romania.

In the women’s triple jump, Cuba’s Yamile Aldama recorded the longest leap for two years with a personal best of 15.11 meters.

The meeting was the last to be staged in the Bislett Stadium. The stadium will be demolished and next year’s event will be held in Gothenburg, Sweden, while a new one is erected. Former world record breakers in the stadium, including Britain’s Sebastian Coe and Norway’s Ingrid Kristiansen, paraded in cars around the stadium before the start.