Kenya’s world 10 000 metres champion Vivian Cheruiyot took silver and though she was far behind, her time of 29:32.53 was still the third-fastest ever run. The 24 year-old was so far ahead of the field that she finished nearly 15 SECONDS of Kenyan Vivian Cheruiyot who had to settle for silver despite setting a national record.
Advertisement
What it got was a 10,000-meter world record from an Ethiopian who considers it her second-favorite distance, and a race that will go down as one of the best ever run at the Olympics.
China’s Wang Junxia set the previous record with a time of 29 minutes and 31.78 seconds in Germany in 1993, AP reported.
Africa has won her first gold medal at the Rio Olympics thanks to the record breaking effort of Ethiopia’s Almaz Ayana in the women’s 10,000m. Four individual world records have been set in swimming, including American Katie Ledecky carving almost two seconds off her own world-best time in the women’s 400-meter freestyle.
Dibaba, the 2008 and 2012 Olympic champion, had been bidding to become the first woman in history to win three consecutive golds in an individual athletics event. After she answered, the translator speaking for her told the press the runner had given a “very sharp answer” in her native tongue.
A hugely gutsy performance at last month’s European Championships in Amsterdam, where she finished fifth, earned her a spot. Wang’s 10,000m mark knocked 42 seconds off the old record and was until yesterday still 22 seconds faster than any other woman has run.
Xinyi returned positive for hydrochlorothiazide, a diuretic, after Sunday’s women’s 100m butterfly final, in which she finished fourth, Chinese sports authorities said.
Two Rio Olympians with ties to Arkansas have missed their chance to win a medal. Ayana’s 31-year-old teammate Tirunesh Dibaba took bronze. “I can not say that she is not clean, but there is little doubt”.
“It’s unbelievable – I saw the record after the race”, she said.
“I think the Ugandan girl (Juliet Chekwel) ran a lap short and someone ran a lap long”, Wellings said. She called it “a dream come true”.
Molly Huddle broke the American record, finishing in 30:13.17, one of nine national records set Friday.
Advertisement
That clearance left this 30-year-old mother-of-one jumping up and down on the landing mat with a thrilled smile on her face, for all the world like a kid on a bouncy castle. The world junior bronze medalist still led the field through 2000 meters in 5:55 and was followed by the Ethiopian powerhouse duo of world champion Ayana and defending Olympic champion Dibaba. Wodak represented Canada. She still holds a number of records she set while at UALR.
