Eugene World Athletics Championships, women’s 5000m offered a wild finish

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Women’s 5000m final

Letesenbet Gidey of Ethiopia was considered unbeatable going into Saturday’s 5000-metre final. She is the world record holder in the 5000m (14:06.62), 10,000m (29:01.03), and the half-marathon (62:52). She holds the 15km road world best at 44:20. The 24-year-old took the gold medal in the 10,000m event in Eugene with her 30:09.04 performance.

WORLD CHAMPION ‼️

Olympic bronze medallist Gudaf Tsegay 🇪🇹 runs
14:46.29 to strike world 5000m title!

ANOTHER GOLD MEDAL FOR ETHIOPIA 🥇#WorldAthleticsChamps pic.twitter.com/FwNAZkzQwL

— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) July 24, 2022

Gidey had competition though. Former Ethiopian Sifan Hassan who now runs for the Netherlands took two gold medals in Tokyo, in the 5000m and 10,000m events as well as a bronze in the 1500m event. The 29-year-old holds several, national, European, and world records including for the one-hour race which she accomplished 18.930 kilometres.

Twenty-two-year-old Kenyan Beatrice Chebet is no slouch with a 5000m best of 14:34.55.

Ethiopian Gudaf Tsegay though would prove to be a tough competitor bringing her 14:13.32 personal best to the line.

The race had erratic pacing until Gidey injected some speed, which she shared with Tsegay a couple of times.

Over the final few laps, the field began to spread. During this period, Hassan, who is known for starting at the back and working her way up to the front to unleash a ferocious sprint, did exactly that. At one point she cut from lane two to lane one directly in front of Gidey and unleash a deep effort, but there were six in the lead group on the final bend and it would be Tsegay who would unleash a well-timed powerful kick for the win, dropping Gidey and Hassan hard.

She won in the time of 14:46.29. Finishing in second was Chebet in a season-best 14:46.75. Taking third was Ethiopian Dawit Seyaum recording a 14:47.36 finish time. Gidey and Hassan finished in fifth and sixth positions, respectively.

After the race, while the athletes were celebrating, an Ethiopian man ran onto the track and lifted both Tsegay and Seyaum into the air. He was carrying a Tigray flag. Currently, there is a civil war going on in Ethiopia and the two athletes are from the Tigray region.

Results