Meseret Defar celebrates, London 5,000m, by PhotoRun.net
Meseret Defar was the Olympic champion in 2004 in the 5,000 meters. In 2008, Tirunesh Dibaba took the gold and Defar took the bronze.
This time, Meseret was not playing around. Jo Pavey lead the 1,000 meters in 3:07.58. Elena Romagnolo of Italy lead through a 3:10 even slower kilometer, hitting the 2k in 6:17.35. Jo Pavey gave it another go, hitting the front and leading through 9:27.75, another 3:10 pace.
Dibaba en route, photo by PhotoRun.net
Meseret Defar was there, lurking and Tirunesh Dibaba, the gold medalist in the 10,000 meters, already, floating.
Dibaba had run a fine 10,000m in Nike Pre, then creamed Defar in the 5,000m in adidas Grand Prix. Tirunesh went to the front, floating along and dropping the pace to 2:57 per kilometer, hitting the 4k in 12:24.81.
So, this is when it got interesting.
Dibaba, Defar (Cheruiyot in background), 5,000m heats up,
by PhotoRun.net
Sally Kipyego, Vivian Cheruiyot, Meseret Defar in tow, Tirunesh Dibaba got real serious, dropping the pace to 2:40 for the final kilometer.
Dibaba, Cheruiyot and Defar puts some real estate between Kipyego and the three potential medalists.
It came down to the final straight away. Defar went by, or tried, and Dibaba held her off, until about 50 meters to go, as Meseret Defar went by for the win, running 15:04.25. Then, Vivian Cheruiyot went by, adding a silver to her bronze in the 10,000 meters. Vivian ran 15:04.73. In third, Tirunesh Dibaba ran 15:05.15.
Meseret Defar was ecstactic. She cried, she showed a picture of the Virgin Mary that looks like a scapular, that she had obviously prayed to, hoping that she could regain her form in 2004.
We guess it worked.
10 August 2012 – 20:05
| Position | Bib | Athlete | Country | Mark | . |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1703 | Meseret Defar | ETH | 15:04.25 | . |
| 2 | 2327 | Vivian Jepkemoi Cheruiyot | KEN | 15:04.73 | . |
| 3 | 1706 | Tirunesh Dibaba | ETH | 15:05.15 | . |
| 4 | 2336 | Sally Jepkosgei Kipyego | KEN | 15:05.79 | . |
| 5 | 1702 | Gelete Burka | ETH | 15:10.66 | . |
| 6 | 2333 | Viola Jelagat Kibiwot | KEN | 15:11.59 | . |
| 7 | 1871 | Joanne Pavey | GBR | 15:12.72 | . |
| 8 | 1849 | Julia Bleasdale | GBR | 15:14.55 | . |
| 9 | 2859 | Olga Golovkina | RUS | 15:17.88 | . |
| 10 | 1258 | Shitaye Eshete | BRN | 15:19.13 | . |
| 11 | 3297 | Molly Huddle | USA | 15:20.29 | . |
| 12 | 1256 | Tejitu Daba | BRN | 15:21.34 | . |
| 13 | 2881 | Yelena Nagovitsyna | RUS | 15:21.38 | . |
| 14 | 3281 | Julie Culley | USA | 15:28.22 | . |
| 15 | 2159 | Elena Romagnolo | ITA | 15:35.69 | . |
| Intermediate | Bib | Athlete | Nation | Mark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1000m | 1871 | Joanne Pavey | GBR | 3:07.58 |
| 2000m | 2159 | Elena Romagnolo | ITA | 6:17.35 |
| 3000m | 1871 | Joanne Pavey | GBR | 9:27.75 |
| 4000m | 1706 | Tirunesh Dibaba | ETH | 12:24.81 |
