(AP) BEIJING — Kenenisa Bekele has successfully defended his Olympic 10,000 meters title in a games record, leading teammate Sileshi Sihine again in an Ethiopian 1-2 finish.
Kenenisa hit the front 450 meters from the finish Sunday and crossed in 27 minutes, 01.17 seconds to beat the record he set at Athens four years ago.
Sileshi Sihine, who was second at the Athens Olympics and at the last two world championships, took silver at 27:02.77, and Kenya’s Micah Kogo won the bronze medal in 27:04.11.
Haile Gebrselassie, 35, who won the 10,000 at the 1996 and 2000 Games, faded to finish in sixth place. He switched to the marathon after the Athens Olympics, where he finished fifth in the 10,000, but opted against competing at the marathon in Beijing because of pollution concerns.
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Kenenisa Bekele retains 10,000 title
(By Mitch Phillips, Reuters) BEIJING — World record holder Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia secured what he hopes will be the first leg of the long-distance double when he retained his Olympic 10,000 metres title with a devastating last lap on Sunday.
After tracking the leaders for most of the race, Kenenisa let rip over the last 400 metres to finish well clear of team mate Sileshi Sihine, who also got silver behind him in Athens, and Micah Kogo snatched bronze for Kenya.
Haile Gebrselassie’s bid for an emotional third gold after his triumphs in 1996 and 2000 fell short when he finished sixth.
Kenenisa has said he hopes to race the 5,000 metres but will decide after Sunday’s race.
(Editing by Ed Osmond)