Dibaba wins 10 000m gold
2008-08-15 17:36
Beijing - Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia produced an electric last lap to win the women's 10 000m gold medal at the Olympics on Friday.
Dibaba recorded a new Olympic record time of 29min 54.66sec in perfect conditions at a packed National Stadium and set herself well on the way for an unprecedented 5000m-10,000m double.
The reigning double World 10 000m champion had been happy to follow the race leaders for all but one of the 25 laps.
But as soon as the bell for the final lap sounded, Dibaba opened up and pulled away with ease from silver medallist Elvan Abeylegesse, the Ethiopian-born runner representing Turkey.
American Shalane Flanagan won a shock bronze medal in 30:22.22.
- AFP