Dibaba wins 10,000m gold

Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia celebrates after winning the women's 10,000m final of the athletics competition in the National Stadium at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on Friday. Photo/REUTERS

Ethiopia’s 10,000 metres world champion Tirunesh Dibaba added to her collection the only medal that was missing – the Olympic 10,000 metres title – by winning Africa’s first gold of the Beijing Olympics in an African and Olympic record time at the Beijing National Olympic Stadium.

The little girl from the Bekoji highlands of the Ethiopian Rift Valley was timed at 29 minutes, 54.66 seconds with former Ethiopian Elvan Abeylegesse, running for Turkey, timed at 29:56.34 in second place and USA’s Shalane Flanagan, who came into the race with the season’s best time, taking the bronze.

Kenya’s bid for the title went up in smoke with former world junior cross country champion, Linet Masai, competing in her first major track race for Kenya, finishing fourth. Lucy Kabuu was seventh while Peninah Arusei finished 18th.

Masai said it was difficult keeping up the pace in her first major outing on the track while Arusei suffered a stitch that held her back and coupled with the fact that she was allowed into the Olympic Village only 24 hours to the race, thanks to Athletics Kenya’s indecision on who would make the Kenyan team, Arusei was never going to make it.

“I had already given up and that really affected me a lot,” said Arusei, who had been left out of the Kenyan team despite finishing second at last month’s trials, as she did not have the qualifying time for the Olympics, said.

Arusei finally replaced Grace Momanyi only 72 hours before the race and Athletics Kenya’s late decision could have gleefully played into Dibaba’s hands.

Totally awry

Kabuu said their game plan went totally awry. “We had decided to stay with the pack but somehow when Dibaba and Abeylegesse broke we failed to go with them,” Kabuu said.

Like she loves doing on the road, Kenya-born Dutchwoman Lornah Kiplagat controlled the race from the front and led at the halfway mark.

Ethiopia’s Mestawet Tufa – who later dropped out of the race - stayed in touch in the leading group that also had Abyelegesse, the Dibaba sisters world champion Tirunesh and 2004 Olympic silver medallist Ejegayehu and Kenya’s Masai and Kabuu.

Kiplagat briefly lost the lead to Abyelegesse and the Dibaba sisters with nine laps to go but stayed in the lead pack as Masai made her move, pulling Kabuu along with eight to go with Kiplagat dropped in the next lap.

It was now a battle between Abyelegesse, the two Ethiopians and two Kenyans with six laps to go and when Mestawet Tufa, dropped out. Dibaba knew the destiny was in her own hands.