WITH EUROPEAN 5K/10K CHAMP Nadia Battocletti skipping both the DL final and this meet, the door opened for someone less obvious to become the inaugural Ultimate champion. Odds were good it would be an Ethiopian — that country held half of the 12 entries.
Halfway through the race, Likina Amebaw decided it would be her, and the rest of the field put up little argument.
Dutch star Maureen Koster led the first half, with even but unremarkable splits of 3:00.64 and 6:00.63 through the first 2 kilometers. Amebaw, the DL Final silver medalist, decided she’d had enough of that — in a span of about 150m she surged from 9th to 1st and took the reins.
It was almost a time trial after that. She hit 3K in 8:51.70. Australia’s Rose Davies gamely tried to keep up, and the other Ethiopians realized they’d better join the chase, but Amebaw was building a gap. By 4K (11:38.45), her lead reached nearly 40m and she romped to a 14:30.36 title.
Behind her, a 1-4 Ethiopian sweep seemed possible, but Australia’s Jessica Hull — perhaps with wounded pride from a 9th-place 1500 finish the day before — launched a ferocious kick. A 13.97 final 100 swept her past Amebaw’s teammates for 2nd in 14:32.39, edging Fantaye Belayneh by 0.23.
The win capped what had been a tumultuous period for Amebaw as she sought Spanish citizenship. Once she committed to running for Ethiopia, the path opened for her to run in a championship race.
“I’m very happy to become the Ultimate champion,” said Amebaw. “I was thinking I do not have too much of a sprint, so I was thinking halfway through the race that I’ve got to push.”
“Me and my team wanted to give me the chance to run the 5000 but we didn’t know how it was going to go,” said Hull. “I just trusted that the rail would open up, so I was trying to keep calm. I chatted to my teammate last week, who won the Diamond League final on the rail and I just repeated to myself: ‘Trust! It’s going to be open.’ That is one of the coolest experiences.”
UC WOMEN’S 5000 RESULTS
(September 13)
1. Likina Amebaw (Eth) 14:30.36
(3:02.63, 6:02.36, 8:51.70, 11:38.45)
(17.16, 34.20, 68.44)
2. Jessica Hull (Aus) 14:32.39 PR
(13.97, 28.92, 61.46)
3. Fantaye Belayneh (Eth) 14:32.62
(14.11, 28.94, 61.66)
4. Freweyni Hailu (Eth) 14:32.76
(14.44, 29.44, 61.91)
5. Aleshign Baweke (Eth) 14:32.95
(14.61, 29.54, 61.95)
6. Rose Davies (Aus) 14:35.64
7. Senayet Getachew (Eth) 14:38.65
8. Maureen Koster (Neth) 14:38.78 (3:00.64, 6:00.63)
9. Hirut Meshesha (Eth) 14:42.49
10. Marta García (Spa) 14:43.94
11. Hannah Nuttall (GB) 15:00.04
12. Shelby Houlihan (US) 15:18.65.
