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Bekele Defends Olympic 10,000m Title; Rupp 13th

Posted August 17th, 2008 at 2:00 PM by Stephanie Lowe

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics

Kenenisa Bekele and Sileshi Sihine reclaimed gold and silver for Ethiopia in the men’s 10,000 meters Sunday night in Beijing. Three-time world champion and 10,000m/5000m world record holder Bekele ran 27:01.17 to break the Olympic record, which he set in Athens.

“It was a very big goal for me to win this title - my dreams have come true to win tonight,” Bekele said afterward.

Sihine was close behind Bekele in 27:02.77 and Kenya’s Micah Kogo won the bronze with a time of 27:04.11. Kogo barely outkicked fellow Kenyan Moses Ndiema Masai at the finish line.

The race was full of familiar faces from four years ago. Among the leaders were 2004 Olympic bronze medalist Zersenay Tadese of Eritrea in 5th place (27:05.11) and Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia in 6th (27:06.68). This was the fourth Olympic Games for Gebrselassie, who won 10,000m gold in 1996 and 2000.

First for the United States, Galen Rupp was 13th among the 35 finishers. Rupp ran a season-best time of 27:36.99.

“To come out here took it to another level for me. I ran pretty well. I was getting in there and being competitive. I think I did a great job of that,” Rupp said.

U.S. Olympic Trials 10,000m champion Abdi Abdirahman was disappointed with his 15th-place finish (27:52.53).

“It was a good race, but I couldn’t get my rhythm,” he said. “I wasn’t feeling my best.”

Jorge Torres rounded out the U.S. team in 28:13.93, good for 25th place.

“I wish I could have done better, but I’ll move on. I’ll go raise my hand high and continue to dream again,” Torres said. I’m an Olympian and no one can take that away from me.”

Eritrea’s Kidane Tadasse led most of the first half of the race, passing 5000 meters in 13:48. At 6000 meters, Gebrselassie overtook the Eritreans, but not for long. Tadese made his move and the pace quickened among the east African rivals over the final 3 kilometers. Kogo passed Tadese and soon it was a classic close battle between the Kenyan and Ethiopian teams. At the bell, Bekele looked effortless as he picked up the pace and defended his title.

Bekele is slated to next run in the men’s 5000 meters, which starts with Wednesday’s heats. The final is scheduled for Saturday, August 23, at 8:10 p.m. (8:10 a.m. EDT).