Ethiopia's Tsegay wins 10,000 metres after Hassan stumbles to the ground

BUDAPEST :Gudaf Tsegay of Ethiopia won a dramatic women's 10,000 metres at the world championships on Saturday night after race leader Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands stumbled and fell about 20 metres from the finish line.

Tsegay, the reigning world 5,000 metres champion, pulled up tightly beside Hassan down the home stretch and the two ran shoulder-to-shoulder before the Dutchwoman's shocking crash, leaving Tsegay to cross alone in a time of 31 minutes 27.18 seconds to lead an Ethiopian medal sweep.

"I think I got pushed by the Ethiopian," Hassan said. "I hope I am not crazy. I will need to look at the replay to see what exactly happened."

World record-holder Letesenbet Gidey was second in 31:28.16, while Ejgayehu Taye won the bronze (31:28.31).

Hassan eventually got back on her feet and finished in 11th place.

"I am keeping my smile but it is really hard. I am very disappointed," she said. "This is sport, these things happen. I just had a bad moment.

"I felt really strong and tried to push in the last lap. I really enjoy what I do. I do not think I am injured. My hand is OK but the knee needs to be checked. Hopefully, all is good."

The 26-year-old Tsegay ran 59.01 seconds in a wild last lap that saw Hassan blaze by six runners down the back stretch and into the lead - until disaster struck.

Hassan, who won double gold in the 5,000 and 10,000 and bronze in the 1,500 at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, is repeating her lung-busting Olympic triple in Hungary, saying on Instagram earlier in the week: "I want to see if I can do it again, because the challenge of running three distances fuels me."

Less than seven hours earlier on Saturday, Hassan won her heat in the 1,500 metres.

Her six races, including heats and finals, stretch over