Ethiopia’s Almaz Ayana, left, is congratulated by Ethiopia’s Tirunesh Dibaba after winning the women’s 10,000-meter final during the athletics competitions of the 2016 Summer Olympics at the Olympic stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, Aug. 12, 2016.
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A few minutes before the start of Friday morning’s 10,000-meter race, Almaz Ayana, a 24-year-old distance runner from Ethiopia, kneeled on the track and quickly made a cross over her chest.
Ayana, 24, left her rivals trailing as she finished in 29min 17.45sec, slicing almost 14 seconds off the previous world best of 29:31.78 set by China’s Wang Junxia in 1993 during the era of notorious coach Ma Junren.
Africa bagged the other medal slots in the same race as Kenya’s Vivian Cheruiyot won the silver and Ayana’s fellow national, Tirunesh Dibaba took bronze.
Theisen-Eaton and her husband, USA decathlon world record holder Ashton Eaton, could become the first married couple to both win gold medals in the same Olympics with victories in Rio.
Wang’s 1993 record broke the previous mark by almost 42 seconds. “It’s bittersweet. But it’s sport, you have to take it on the chin”, Adams said.
“I am really very happy that Almaz came first because a new champion is coming, a new cheetah, a new heroine is coming”, she said.
Runners such as Britain’s Paula Radcliffe, who won the European 2002 title in 30:01.09 and thus now stands ninth on the all-time list, indicated clearly that she had grave suspicions about the mark she had tried in vain to better.
Unlike sprints, which have a less complicated mandate (run fast!), the 10,000-meter race requires a great deal of strategy; a moderate pace benefits runners like Dibaba, who is known for her furious kick at the end.
Nor is Ayana’s Olympics.
“My doping is my training, my doping is Jesus”. She also has the fastest time ever in the 5,000 meter race.
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – One world record, one Olympic gold. “It appears to be a little too easy for her”.
Ayana, who is unbeaten this season, is now poised to become the next dominating long-distance runner and is also going for gold in the 5,000 metres next Friday.
Athletics took centre stage in Rio needing a lift after the Russian Federation doping storm, but there were immediate questions about Ayana’s 10,000m run, which broke a 23-year-old world record. “Otherwise, nothing. I am crystal clear”.
Compatriot superstar David Rudisha, the multiple world and 2012 Olympic champion, whose world record run of 1:40.91 was one of the highlights of the London 2012 Games, led the 800m heats in 1:45.09. “My only plan was to win the race”.
Also worth looking forward to Saturday: the first appearance of Jamaica’s Usain Bolt, who’s pursuing his third straight sweep of titles in the 100 and 200 and the 400-meter relay.
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When this remark was put to Ayana in the post-race press conference room, she simply smiled, pulled up her chair, and said (via her translator): “Three basic things”.
