Gidey holds off Kenyans to win another 10,000m for Ethiopia

EUGENE, Oregon: Ethiopian world record holder Letesenbet Gidey held off a twin Kenyan challenge and also finally overcame her nemesis Sifan Hassan in a terrific finish to win the women's 10,000 metres gold at the World Championships on Saturday (Jul 15).

Gidey had been towards the front for the majority of the race but forged clear on the final lap.

Hellen Obiri and Margaret Chelimo Kipkemboi looked as if they might overhaul her in the final 30 metres but Gidey, glancing desperately to her right as Obiri closed, held on to win in 30:09.94 - the fastest time of the year.

Obiri took silver in 30:10.02 with Kipkemboi third in 30:10.07 - both personal best times - in cool conditions perfect for distance running.

Olympic and defending world champion Hassan of the Netherlands, who has barely been seen on the track this year as she took time off to recover from her stupendous but draining 2021, ran out of gas in the final straight to finish fourth.

"The dream came true, this victory is even more important to me than a world record," Gidey said. "I was thinking about winning this gold since 2019 but Hassan was always there. I was also watching Obiri. This time, I was really watching them and I knew I had to be very fast in the last 300m."

Hassan’s fallow year and the absence of several other leading contenders meant this race was one of the most difficult of the Eugene programme to predict.

In perfect conditions for distance running, the field remained largely in one bunch, with an Ethiopian trio setting the pace and Hassan taking her usual approach of sitting towards the back

Britain’s Eilish McColgan, whose mother Liz won the title 1991 and who came in with the second-fastest time of the year, set much of the early pace but drifted