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Kenenisa
retains 10,000 title, breaks Olympic record
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 ADDIS
ABEBA(August 18,2008) - World
record holder superstar Kenenisa Bekele secured what he hopes will
be the first leg of the long-distance double when he retained his
Olympic 10,000 metres title with a devastating last lap on Sunday
in Beijing.
After tracking the lead for most of the race, Kenenisa let rip over
the last 400 metres to finish well clear of team mate Sileshi Sihine,
who also got silver behind him in Athens, while Micah Kogo snatched
bronze for Kenya.
Kenenisa's time of 27 minutes 1.17 seconds was an Olympic record,
bettering the time he set in 2004.
With either Kenyans or Ethiopians dictating a brisk but not lethal
pace, the lead pack slowly shed runners throughout the race. Only
seven, including all three Kenyans and Ethiopians started the final
two laps together.
The rapid closing speed was too much for Haile Gebrselassie and his
bid for a third gold after triumphs in 1996 and 2000 fell short as
he fell back to sixth in the final 200 metres.
Haile, the marathon world record holder, has focused on the longer
event in recent years but opted for the 10,000 in Beijing.
Kenenisa has said he hopes to race the 5,000 metres but would decide
after Sunday's race.
With two gold medals and a silver, Ethiopia now stands 22nd in the
Olympic medals table.
East African runners took the top seven places in the race and only
Eritrea's Zersenay Tadese, who finished fifth, managed to disrupt
the Ethiopian-Kenyan duel. |
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