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Despite attempted coup Bekele retains 10,000m throne

Posted August 27th, 2007 at 8:57 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

kenenisa bekele winning 10,000m gold medal at 2007 iaaf world championships in athletics The prince saw an opportunity to take the throne, but in the end the king’s reign would continue, at least for another two years.

That was the basic scenario which played out in tonight’s much-anticipated men’s 10,000m final which capped an exciting evening of middle and long distance running at the 11th IAAF World Championships in Athletics at Nagai Stadium.

Sileshi Sihine, the Ethiopian who took the silver medal behind compatriot Kenenisa Bekele at both the 2004 Olympic Games and the 2005 World Championships, saw a chance to move up to the top step of the podium when Bekele fell to third place late in the race and appeared to be struggling.

A fast pace set by world cross country champion Zersenay Tadesse of Eritrea followed by an attack with three laps to go by Kenyan Martin Irungu Mathathi, set the stage for Sihine’s bid for victory. He shot ahead, opening a big gap and it looked like a gold medal move.

“I was trying to win and I always try my best,” said Sihine after the race. “But Kenenisa is very strong.”

Indeed, Bekele did not fade. With 400 meters to go he was still well behind Sihine, but the two-time reigning world champion turned on the closing speed he has called upon so many times before to carry him to victory. Tonight would be no different, as his 55.5 second final lap gave him time to slow down before the finish line and, as is his tradition, reverently cross himself before bagging his third consecutive world title.

“when the race was begininng I was full confident [sic],” Bekele said in English. “When three laps left with changing pace, I’m tired. I’m worried about to win.”

Bekele’s 27:05.90 finish time was the second-fastest ever in a World Championships, surpassed only by his Championships record of 26:49.57 set in much cooler conditions in Paris in 2003 when he dethroned Haile Gebrselassie in the final sprint to the line. Sihine clocked 27:09.03 to earn yet another silver medal, and Irungu Mathathi was rewarded for his late race attack with a bronze in 27:12.17. Tadesse, who led the race through 8000m and insured an honest pace, finished fourth.

Although they didn’t win any medals, it was a good night for the USA team. Led by national 10,000m champion Abdi Abdirahman, the Americans managed to place three men in the top-11. Abdirahman finished seventh in 27:56.62, equaling the best finish place ever by an American in this event (Todd Williams also finished seventh in Stuttgart in 1993). Former Colorado star Dathan Ritzenhein (Pictured) finished ninth and the University of Oregon’s Galen Rupp was 11th.

Bekele was mum on his near-term plans, only saying that he planned to be ready for next year’s Olympic Games. “Actually, after Osaka, my big goal is Beijing Olympics,” he said. “I’m keeping my performance up to Beijing. Between Bejing and now maybe I can try some world record.”

The men racing tonight’s 1500m semi-finals weren’t concerned with records, just survival. The first of two bruising heats delivered American Bernard Lagat to the finish line first, as he swung wide on the final turn to get past the field and stay out of trouble, clocking 3:42.39. Tarek Boukensa of Algeria finished second and teenager Asbel Kiprop of Kenya finishd third.

But just behind the leaders, a fracas was unfolding as Frenchman Mehdi Baala made an aggressive move to slice through traffic with ten meters to go and nab one of the top-5 automatic qualifying spots. Both Morocco’s Youssef Baba and Kenya’s Daniel Kipchirchir Komen found themselves tumbling to the track, their world championship medal hopes seemingly dashed.

However, the delegations from Spain, New Zealand and Morroco filed protests (Juan Carlos Higuero and Nick Willis hadn’t qualified for the final based on the actual order of finish), and the jury of appeals disqualified Baala under rule 163.2 which states that “any competing athlete who jostles or obstructs another athlete, so as to impede his progress, shall be liable to disqualification from that event.” The jury’s decision moved Willis up one position from sixth to fifth, advancing him to the final. Higuero, who in the revised results finished eighth, and Baba, who finished last in 4:16.23, were also advanced to the final because, the jury said, “they had been seriously affected by jostling and obstruction” caused by Baala.

The French delegation immediately filed an appeal, but officials said they would not rule on that until Tuesday.

alan webb sets american mile record on July 21 2007 courtesy of washington post In the second heat, medal favorite Alan Webb (pictured) of the USA ran in last place most of the race and had to run a 52-flat last lap to squeak into the fifth place, the last automatic qualifying position.

“I wasn’t aggressive enough at the start,” Webb told RRW Assistant Editor Bob Ramsak, “and I had to do something I don’t like doing - being at the back the whole time. And it almost cost me a spot in the final.”

Defending world champion Rachid Ramzi of Bahrain, running in only his second race of the year, won the heat in 3:40.53, looking strong all the way to the finish. Antar Zerguelaine of Algeria was second and Arturo Casado of Spain was third. Finishing ninth, Canadian Kevin Sullivan did not advance to the final.

In the women’s 3000m steeplechase final, Russian Yekaterina Volkova dominated the race, recording the second-fastest women’s steeplechase time ever to win the gold medal in 9:06.57, a championships record. Her teammate Tatyana Petrova set a personal best of 9:09.19 to get the silver and Kenya’s Eunice Jepkorir got the bronze in 9:20.09. World record holder Gulnara Samitova-Galkina of Russia, finished a disappointing seventh.

Two finals in the RRW universe are slated for Tuesday night in Nagai Stadium: the men’s steeplechase and the women’s 800m. In the former race reigning Olympic gold medalist Ezekiel Kemboi will try to lead a Kenyan sweep of the podium with teammates Brimin Kipruto and Richard Mateelong. In the latter race Janeth Jepkosgei, the Kenyan who ran a blistering 1:56.17 in the semi-final, hopes to beat the legendary Maria Mutola of Mozambique and Russian stars Svetlana Klyuka and Olga Kotlyarova. A Kenyan woman has never won a world or Olympic 800m title.