Kenenisa Bekele was unbeatable even in Brussels on Friday night. © www.photorun.net
Kenenisa Bekele finished first in the 5,000 meters at the Golden League finale in Brussels on Friday. The Ethiopian distance running champion won a share of the Golden League jackpot and will split the purse with American 400m runner, Sanya Richards, and Russian pole-vaulter, Yelena Isinbayeva. This year was the final season for the Golden League which will be replaced by the Diamond League next year.
“The race today and the one in Berlin at the very start of the series were the toughest,” recalled Bekele, who, after winning in the German capital also remained unbeaten in Oslo, Rome, Paris and Zurich. In Brussels, the 27-year-old ran 12:55.31 minutes to win the race. Once the last pacemaker had dropped out halfway through the race, Bekele was on his own with approximately a 10-meter lead ahead of the pack. When the pack tried to catch him in the end, he surged away from them. Going into the final lap, there were still eight runners in contention up front. But no-one was able to overtake Bekele when it mattered. It was, however, a good night for fellow Ethiopian Imane Merga who finished second in 12:55.66, ahead of the Kenyan, Vincent Chepkok, who came in a close third in 12:55.98.
Earlier on Friday evening, the oldest world record in track and field was broken. A Kenyan squad completed the rarely run 4 x 1500m relay in a time of 14:36.23. The previous record was held by a German relay team who ran 14:38.8 in Cologne on August 17, 1977. In that race 32 years ago, the German squad was comprised of Thomas Wessinghage, Harald Hudak, Michael Lederer, and Karl Fleschen. Wessinghage is the German 1500m record holder to this day with 3:31.58. In 1982, he also won the European title in the 5,000m. The Germans still hold the European record since the squads which finished behind the Kenyans did not run as fast.
The Kenyan squad in Brussels was comprised of William Biwott, Gideon Gathimba, Geoffrey Rono, and Augustine Choge. Choge had improved his personal best this year to sub-3:30 (3:29.47). The decisive leg was the final one run by Choge. At the handoff, Kenya was only a fraction ahead of the field. Choge was determined not to be caught and ran incredibly strong to seal the victory and world record in front of the cheering throng. Kenya’s anchor leg runner was clocked at 3:36.9, the fastest of his squad as well as the rest of the field. “This is the greatest moment of my career. The atmosphere was great and the fans were fantastic—they motivated us,” said an elated Choge afterwards. He added: “It wasn’t an easy race by any means. Three weeks ago we didn’t even know there was a world record for this event.”
The attempt to break the women’s 2,000m world record was not as successful. “Sonia O’Sullivan’s time is very tough—it’s no accident that the record has stood for so long,” said the Brussels meet director Wilfried Meert the day before. The Irish runner ran 5:25.36 in Edinburgh in 1994. Geleta Burka didn’t come close to that time in Brussels. The Ethiopian finished five seconds shy in 5:30.19. With Sonia O’Sullivan among the spectators, she did succeed in breaking Vivian Cheruiyot’s African record. The Kenyan, who ran 5:31.52 in Eugene this year, finished second in 5:35.46. Her compatriot Mercy Cherono was third in 5:35.65.
Brussels clearly sets the standards for these types of events. Meert has developed over the years a format which shows the sport at its very best: stars, head-to-head contests, domestic wins, records, as well as a great show with live bands and fireworks at the finish. It was fantastic end to the Golden League series.
Kipchoge Wins in Sheffield While Weidlinger Makes a Successful Return
The Olympic runner-up in the 5,000m, Eliud Kipchoge, won the Bupa Great Yorkshire Run in Sheffield on Sunday. The Kenyan led from start to finish, winning the 10-kilometer race in 28:30 minutes, following his decision to withdraw from the 5,000m in the Brussels Golden League meeting on Friday. Moumin Geele (Somalia) was second in 28:38, ahead of the Australian, Shawn Forest (28:43).
Günther Weidlinger enjoyed a successful comeback after a long time out because of injury. The Austrian finished seventh in 29:46. The 31-year-old, who ran 2:12:39 hours on his marathon debut in Vienna in April, had been suffering from a pelvic strain—a problem which had been wrongly diagnosed on several occasions in the spring.
“I am very happy to have had such a good race after just four weeks’ training,” Weidlinger told the Austrian news agency, APA. “For the past month I’ve been doing a lot of running, putting the old injury under a lot of pressure and haven’t felt a thing. I felt fine today, so it’s all looking very good for the Frankfurt Marathon, I’m right on schedule,” Weidlinger added. He wants to run the qualifying time for next year’s European Championships on October 25 in Frankfurt.
There was a surprise in the women’s race in Sheffield when the Scottish runner, Freya Murray, won in an exciting finish. Her time, 32:28, was just one second ahead of the former World Cross-Country champion, Benita Johnson Willis of Australia. Willis’ compatriot, Nikki Chapple was third in 32:41.
Vivian Cheruoyot Wins Women’s Race in London
A duel between two world champions came down to the last few meters at the women’s 5K race in London’s Hyde Park. Vivian Cheruiyot, winner of the 5,000m at the World Championships in Berlin, beat her Kenyan compatriot, Linet Masai, who had won gold in the 10,000m. Cheruiyot finished in 15:11—just a second ahead of Masai. A close third was the Ethiopian, Aderu Kebede, who clocked 15:13 to finish a second behind Masai. A total of 17,000 women took part in the race in central London.
“I was still feeling quite tired from my race in the Golden League final in Brussels on Friday evening,” said Vivian Cheruiyot, who had finished runner-up over 2,000m on the track. The early pace wasn’t too quick which suited the 25-year-old Kenyan. The lead pack crossed the first kilometer in 3:09. Once through the 3,000m mark, the three African runners broke away to compete for the overall win.
