Kenenisa Bekele repeated as Olympic 10,000m champion. © www.photorun.net
Kenenisa Bekele has retained his title as Olympic 10,000m champion in emphatic style. Watched by another capacity crowd of 90,000 in the Beijing Olympic stadium, he set an Olympic record of 27:01.17 in winning over his compatriot Sileshi Sihine (27:02.77) as well the Kenyans Micah Kogo and Moses Masai, who were both credited with the same time (27:04.11). After analysis of the photo finish the bronze medal was awarded to Kogo. Haile Gebrselassie (Ethiopia), taking part in his fourth Olympic Games, was sixth behind Zersenay Tadese (Eritrea/27:05.11) in 27:06.68.
The best non-African was, surprisingly, the Turk Selm Bayrak in 11th place in a national record of 27:29.33. Galen Rupp was the best American in 13th place in 27:36.99.
From the start the Africans dictated the pace from the front while the lead constantly changed. Even Gebrselassie, who had surprisingly decided not to run the marathon and instead wore training shoes as he embarked on what was from the start a fruitless struggle for a medal, led at times.
When they came to the final lap in a fast tempo final, there were still seven runners in the leading group. But when Bekele got serious it was quickly apparent that the Ethiopian once again was not going to be beaten. As at four years ago and at the last two World Championships, Sihine had to settle for second behind his famous compatriot.
“I had very good preparation and am delighted to have won the Olympic gold for the second time,” said Bekele, who may well now run the 5,000m. Asked whether he could now compare himself with Gebrselassie, who was also a double Olympic 10,000m champion, Bekele answered, “Before I can do that, I’ll have to win big races for quite a few more years yet.”
“I would have liked to be higher up the field, but in the end the pace was too strong for me,” said Gebrselassie. “I knew that Kenenisa would win. And if he runs the 5,000m, he’ll win that as well.” Gebrselassie will now continue his preparations for running the Berlin Marathon at the end of September. There he wants to bring his world record of 2:04:26 under 2:04.
Galkina of Russia Runs World Record
Gulnara Galkina-Samitova set a world record to win gold in Beijing. © www.photorun.net
As reward for her great effort in pushing the pace in the women’s 3,000m steeplechase final, the Russian Gulnara Galkina-Samitova gained not only the gold medal but also the world record. The 30-year-old crossed the line in 8:58.81, becoming the first woman to break the 9:00 barrier in the steeplechase. She broke the mark of 9:01.59 she had set four years ago.
In the contest for second place, the Kenyan Eunice Chepkorir grabbed the silver medal in 9:07.41 after she overtook Yekaterina Volkova just before the finish. The Russian was third in 9:07.64.
“My coach had told me to keep my wits about me and not just run but also count—when I saw the clock going into the last lap I knew I could break the world record,” said Samitova, who finished seventh at the World Championships last year.
Chepkorir was third at the World Championships last year, and today moved up to second. “I tried to win gold but the pace over the last three laps was simply too strong. But I’m very happy to have won a medal and improved my personal best,” said the Kenyan.
Lagat Toes the Line, But Kiprop and Ramzi Prevail
The dream of an Olympic double ended for Bernard Lagat (USA) in the 1500m semi-finals. The American world champion, who had also won the 5,000m title in Osaka a year ago, surprisingly went out of the competition in Beijing on Sunday evening. Lagat was only sixth in his race, missing out on automatic qualification as one of the first five finishers.
In the end he needed to have run just .03 seconds faster to have gone through to the final as one of the fastest losers. To be fair, recently Lagat hasn’t looked as convincing as he did last year at the World Championships, and he might also have difficulties in the 5,000m.
The Kenyan Asbel Kiprop (3:37.04) and Rashid Ramzi (Bahrain/3:37.11) won their respective semi-finals. The final is on Tuesday.
