SURELY, A KICKER’S RACE would favor 1500 WR holder Faith Kipyegon, no? Yet the queen of the metric mile, who set a 5000 WR of 14:05.20 last summer and was heavily favored here, was dethroned by teammate Beatrice Chebet. The road 5K world champion, Chebet simply refused to let go, and in the last 100m unleashed a furious sprint that brought her past her Kenyan teammate to the gold in 14:28.56.
The race set out at a rather pedestrian pace. A pack of three Kenyans had dictated the first two laps (2:31.1) before Norway’s Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal lost her patience and shot to the front, dropping the tempo from 75s to 70s. They passed 1000 in 3:10.60.
Grøvdal maintained that tempo through 2000 (6:05.37) and beyond. At halfway, she led Italy’s Nadia Battocletti, the three Kenyans (including Margaret Kipkemboi), Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay, and American Elise Cranny. Over the next lap, Ethiopia’s Ejgayehu Taye made a big move from the back and took over. She and Tsegay threw in a 67.7 lap and kept driving as the pack stretched out. She led through 3K in 9:00.03.
At this juncture, defending champion Sifan Hassan ran 9th, though barely over a second off the lead. The Dutch star ran in 8th or 9th until with 500 to go she pushed forward into 5th at the bell.
At 3400 Kipyegon moved to the front, with the apparent intent to slow the pace before her big kick. She throttled it down to a 70-second clip.
With 1000 to go, the kicking started, Kipyegon stretched it out, covering the next 200 in 32.4. Taye, Tsegay and Chebet stayed close, and for a while, Cranny was able to run at the tail end of that juggernaut.
As they approached 800 to run, Tsegay moved to pass Kipyegon and cut in much too soon. A frenzy of shoving erupted as Kipyegon fought to stay on the track. The Ethiopian moved ahead, covering the next 200 in 32.3.
The brutal pace dropped Cranny and with 600 left, there were 8 medal contenders. Coming around that turn, Kipyegon readied herself for the final drive, moving ahead with 500 to go. She ran that 200 in 30.8 to lead to the bell, then unleashed the fastest 200 of the race, a 28.8. The Ethiopians withered, but Chebet could not be shaken. She stuck so close to Kipyegon one expected to see some heels get clipped.
Finally, on the straight, Chebet flew past. Her last lap took 57.5. Her 14:28.56 missed the Olympic Record by 2.39. Behind her, Kipyegon ran 14:29.60. Hassan earned bronze in 14:30.61.
Surprising European champ Battocletti placed 4th in an Italian Record 14:31.64. Last year in Budapest she finished just 16th. Karissa Schweizer led the Americans in 9th with her 14:45.57. Cranny finished 10th in 14:48.06 and Whittni Morgan ran a PR 14:53.57 for 13th.
But the drama hadn’t end at the finishline. Officials initially disqualified Kipyegon for obstruction despite plenty of video evidence that showed Tsegay (who ultimately finished 9th) initiating the incident. A Team Kenya appeal followed, and officials reversed the call.
Said the 24-year-old Chebet, “I knew Faith is very strong so I had to go hard. I just tried myself. When she pushed, I thought, ‘Let me follow her and see if I can secure 2nd.’ If I followed Faith, I thought I would get the silver. Then at 400m to go I felt strong, so I pushed, then kicked again at 300m. Luckily, I was able to win.”
WOMEN’S 5000 RESULTS
FINAL (August 05)
(temperature 82F/28C; humidity 37%)
1. Beatrice Chebet (Ken) 14:28.56
(14.6, 28.9, 57.6);
2. Faith Kipyegon (Ken) 14:29.60
(15.9, 30.1, 58.8);
3. Sifan Hassan (Neth) 14:30.61
(15.5, 29.9, 59.0);
4. Nadia Battocletti (Ita) 14:31.64 NR
(15.0, 29.7, 59.5);
5. Margaret Kipkemboi (Ken) 14:32.23
(15.7, 30.9, 61.0);
6. Ejgayehu Taye (Eth) 14:32.98
(15.9, 31.3, 61.3);
7. Medina Eisa (Eth) 14:35.43
(16.4, 32.3, 63.5);
8. Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal (Nor) 14:43.21;
9. Gudaf Tsegay (Eth) 14:45.21; 10. Karissa Schweizer (US) 14:45.57 (16.9, 33.6, 66.4); 11. Elise Cranny (US) 14:48.06
(17.1, 34.9, 70.2); 12. Rose Davies (Aus) 14:49.67; 13. Nathalie Blomqvist (Fin) 14:53.10; 14. Whittni Morgan (US) 14:53.57 PR(18.6, 36.8, 54.5, 71.9); 15. Joselyn Daniely Brea (Ven) 15:17.04; 16. Francine Niyomukunzi (Bur) 15:22.40.
(kilo leaders: Grøvdal 3:10.7, 6:05.4; Taye 9:00.1; Tsegay 11:50.4)
HEATS (August 02)
I–1. Kipyegon 14:57.56; 2. Hassan 14:57.65; 3. Battocletti 14:57.65; 4. Kipkemboi 14:57.70; 5. Tsegay 14:57.84; 6. Taye 14:57.97; 7. Cranny 14:58.55; 8. Schweizer 14:59.64; 9. Nozomi Tanaka (Jpn) 15:00.62; 10. Marta García (Spa) 15:08.87; 11. Mariana Machado (Por) 15:23.26; 12. Belinda Chemutai (Uga) 15:23.90; 13. Lauren Ryan (Aus) 15:29.35; 14. Hanna Klein (Ger) 15:31.85; 15. Lisa Rooms (Bel) 15:37.55; 16. Agate Caune (Lat) 15:38.19; 17. Yuma Yamamoto (Jpn) 15:43.67; 18. Alma Cortes (Mex) 15:45.33; 19. Briana Scott (Can) 15:47.30; 20. Ankita Dhiyani (Ind) 16:19.38.
II–1. Chebet 15:00.73; 2. Eisa 15:00.82; 3. Davies 15:00.86; 4. Grøvdal 15:01.14; 5. Niyomukunzi 15:01.42; 6. Morgan 15:02.14; 7. Blomqvist 15:02.75; 8. Brea 15:02.89; 9. Isobel Batt-Doyle (Aus) 15:03.64; 10. Maureen Koster (Neth) 15:03.66; 11. Laura Galván (Mex) 15:05.20; 12. Klara Lukan (Slo) 15:09.61; 13. Esther Chebet (Uga) 15:10.46; 14. Parul Chaudhary (Ind) 15:10.68; 15. Samia Hassan Nour (Dji) 15:13.63; 16. Federica Del Buono (Ita) 15:15.54; 17. Sarah Madeleine (Fra) 15:18.62; 18. Viktória Wagner-Gyürkes (Hun) 15:48.24; 19. Wakana Kabasawa (Jpn) 15:50.86; 20. Jodie McCann (Ire) 15:55.08.
