It was a dramatic and enthralling men’s 5000m race at the Zurich Diamond League held at the Letzigrund Stadium in Switzerland on Thursday evening.
Having succumbed to a shock defeat at the hands of Ethiopia’s Muktar Edris in the men’s 5000m at the London Olympic Stadium a couple of weeks ago, multiple Olympic and World Champion Mo Farah was on a mission of redemption in Zurich.
The Ethiopian duo of Edris and Yomif Kejelcha kept abreast of the British athlete, waiting for the sound of the bell to spur them into action. The bell went off and Farah took charge of the race with his Ethiopian rivals following hot on his heels. Edris overtook Farah at some point but the Somali-born athlete reclaimed the lead going down the home straight.
Despite having run out of steam, the Ethiopian pair continued to charge towards the finishing line but Farah beat them to it, stopping the clock in 13:06.05, while Edris and Kejelcha both stumbled across the line in a bid to finish ahead of Farah. They posted 13:06.09 and 13:06.18 respectively, while teammate Selemon Barega placed 4th in 13:07.35.
The victory in Zurich is no doubt a fitting climax for Farah who has enjoyed an illustrious track career which has seen him clinch three world titles apiece over the 5000m and 10,000m.
World Record (WR) holder in the women’s 3000m Steeplechase, Ruth Jebet, finished outside the podium in London. However, the Bahraini athlete bounced back in Zurich, becoming the only athlete to set a Meeting Record (MR) on Thursday after erasing her former MR of 9:07.00 set last year, with a superior time of 8:55.29, which is also a World Lead (WL).
Jebet’s stunning race inspired former compatriots Beatrice Chepkoech and Norah Jeruto to Personal Bests (PB) of 8:59.84 and 9:05.31 respectively, while surprise World Champion Emma Couburn finished in 4th place with a time of 9:15.81.
Reigning Olympic and World Champion Caster Semenya maintained her unbeaten streak over two seasons, storming to the Diamond Trophy with a winning time of 1:55.84 in the women’s 800m.
World Indoor Champion Francine Niyonsaba returned a time of 1:56.71 while Kenya’s Margaret Wambui raced to a PB of 1:56.87 in 3rd. Ethiopia’s Habitam Alemu clocked a National Record (NR) of 1:57.05 to place 4th.
London 2017 Silver medallist Timothy Cheruiyot upstaged newly crowned champion and teammate Elijah Manangoi to win the 1500m, clocking a time of 3:33.93.
Another Kenyan Silas Kiplagat was 2nd in 3:34.26, as Managoi, perhaps still recovering from the World Championships, settled for 3rd in a time of 3:34.65. Former World Champion Asbel Kiprop finished 4th in 3:34.77.
