During the 2021 Ethiopian National Championships 5000m race that took place Addis Ababa stadium on April 11, Gudaf Tsegay, drafted off of Letesenbet Gidey for more than 11.5 laps before taking the lead in commanding fashion. The two separated themselves from the field early. Gidey, whether it was planned or not, became the pacer and that is the way the race played until they slowed after 10 laps had passed.
Gidey who is known for her near-flawless form appeared to work at least as hard as any other race to keep the lead. It was with with great calm that Tsegay, changed gears and finished almost without effort, peaking glances at her watch and back to see if Gidey was going to sprint, while in full flight.
They finished in 14:49.70 and 14:56.70, respectively for pending Ethiopian domestic records.
Tsegay, who is an adidas-sponsored athlete, wore Nike shoes with her adidas kit.
Tsegay’s personal best is 14:46.22 from Ostrava in Sept. 2020. She is a 1500m specialist who earned a bronze medal in Doha at the 2019 World Athletics Championships running her personal best of 3:54.38.
Gidey is more of a distance athlete. She owns a 5000m best of 14:06.62, which is the current world record. She has also run 30:21.23, which earned her a silver medal at the 2019 world championships.
