Ethiopian joins Yifter, Viren, Kuts, Zatopek and Kolehmainen; also sets Olympic record
By Parker Morse, Running USA wire
BEIJING, China - (August 23, 2008) - Kenenisa Bekele accomplished another feat which had escaped the great Gebrselassie Saturday evening at the "Bird's Nest" when he added the 5000 meter Olympic gold medal to the 10,000 meter gold he won earlier in the week. The last man to win the Olympic 5000 and 10,000 double was also an Ethiopian, the great Miruts Yifter in 1980.
Bekele, 26, finished the double, which he attempted unsuccessfully in Athens, by bringing team tactics and fast-paced racing back to the Olympic 5000, and in the process smashed one of the oldest Olympic records in the men's list. By running 12:57.82 for the win, Bekele ran the first sub-13:00 5000m in Olympic history, and pulled silver medalist Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya under the old Olympic mark as well.
Kipchoge finished in 13:02.80, and the old record of 13:05.59 was set by Said Aouita in Los Angeles 1984. Bronze here in Beijing went to Kenyan Edwin Cheruiyot Soi in 13:06.22.
Despite successfully opting to sit in the back until the last lap of Sunday's 10,000m final, Bekele's tactics in the shorter race owed more to his experience in the Athens Olympics. When Bekele's attempt at the double came to grief in 2004, it was at the hands of 1500m gold medalist and consummate fast closer Hicham el Guerrouj of Morocco.
Bekele and his teammates concluded that a slower-paced race, the way most championship 5000m finals have been run recently, kept too many medal contenders in the picture. They resolved to work together to thin the pack down from the start.
Bekele, his younger brother Tariku, and their teammate Abreham Cherkos sprinted to the front of the 5000m final from the gun, and one of the green-vested Ethiopians controlled the pace for every meter of the race. For the first 3000m (reached in 8:00.85), the Bekele brothers and Cherkos took turns at the front, spelling each other frequently and progressively increasing the pace. After the 3000m mark, Bekele made a significant push, leaving his teammates behind and cutting the pack in half. Only the Kenyans Kipchoge and Soi, Ugandan Moses Kipsiro (the bronze medalist at the 2007 World Championships), World Champion Bernard Lagat of the USA and James Kwalia C'Kurui of Qatar covered the move; C'Kurui couldn't hang on to Bekele's pace long, and Lagat was the next one dropped.
Bekele pushed again with 1000 meters remaining to drop Kipsiro, and then after taking the bell for the last lap, he kicked as though he hadn't been running a brisk pace. Bekele's last 200 meters wasn't quite as swift as that of Jamaican star Usain Bolt, but he was equally as effective at making his competition look sluggish; his entire 5-second margin of victory over Kipchoge came in the last lap. "I expected myself to get the gold medal, but I lost it and he was faster," said Kipchoge philosophically.
With three Olympic gold medals and a silver, Bekele is now the most successful Olympian in Ethiopian history, surpassing Yifter, Gebrselassie and the great Abebe Bikila. Aouita's record was the second-oldest men's Olympic record in the books, exceeded in longevity only by Bob Beamon's legendary long jump mark in 1968. "I'm feeling good," said Bekele after his race. "It was a fantastic race and it was a fantastic day for me."
Lagat, the double World Champion at 1500m and 5000m last year in Osaka, finished both events without a medal in Beijing. In the 5000m, he finished 9th in 13:26.89, blaming a viral infection in his throat.
Teammate Matt Tegenkamp, 4th in this event in Osaka, was 13th in 13:33.13; Tegenkamp could only say, "I just didn't have it tonight. I have a lot of work to do and I know I need to get stronger."
Olympic Games: Beijing
National Stadium / "Bird's Nest"
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Men's 5000m Final
1) Kenenisa Bekele (ETH), 12:57.82*, Gold
2) Eliud Kipchoge (KEN), 13:02.80, Silver
3) Edwin Cheruiyot Soi (KEN), 13:06.22, Bronze
4) Moses Ndiema Kipsiro (UGA), 13:10.56
5) Abreham Cherkos (ETH), 13:16.46
6) Tariku Bekele (ETH), 13:19.06
7) Juan Luis Barrios (MEX), 13:19.79
8) James Kwalia C'Kurui (QAT), 13:23.48
9) Bernard Lagat (USA), 13:26.89
10) Kidane Tadasse (ERI), 13:28.40
13) Matt Tegenkamp (USA), 13:33.13
*Olympic record (previous record, 13:05.59, Said Aouita (MAR), Los Angeles 1984)
Complete results, starts lists, daily schedule and more at: IAAF.org.
Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Director
(805) 696-6232; Fax = (805) 659-0016
Ryan@RunningUSA.org
www.RunningUSA.org.
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