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Kenya: Joy As Kenyans Exact Revenge On Ethiopians With 10,000m Gold
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The Nation (Nairobi)
11 July 2008
Posted to the web 11 July 2008
Chris Musumba
Bydgoszcz
It was a night to remember as Kenya revenged against their Ethiopian rivals by sweeping the men's 10,000m race with Josephat Bett and Titus Mbishei claiming gold and silver respectively in the longest track race.
Just a day after the Ethiopians dominated the women's 5,000m, the Kenyans returned the favour with a standout performance that even left their critics surprised. With both bronze medallist Ibrahim Jeilan and Hunegnaw Mesfin having entered the race with the fastest time this season, it was a disappointing experience for the Ethiopians who were nearly lapped by the Kenyans in the final lap which they did in a scintillating sub-60-seconds to give Bett the gold in a new championship record of 27:30.85 - some 32 seconds from the previous mark.
Mbishei posted a personal best time of 27:31.65 in taking the silver while Ibrahim Jeilan (Ethiopia) 28:07.98 was third ahead of compatriot Hunegnaw Mesfin 28:08.58 and Uganda's Stephen Kiprotich 28:10.71.
"We are finally even. It pained me to lose to the Ethiopians in Edinburgh and today I got my revenge. I wanted to show them that we Kenyans are here to stay and one poor performance does not meat we are out as favourites," said Bett.
In was an eventful second day of the championships as two championship records tumbled, pre-event favourites were sent packing and Jamaican sprinting and Kenyan distance running enjoyed a night to remember.
Impressive list
Chilly conditions inside the stadium and a combination of wind, rain and sun made life tricky for the world's teenage track and field elite.
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Bett added his name to the impressive list of former winners of the title such as Haile Gebrselassie, Daniel Komen and Richard Chelimo. The relentless pace shared by Bett and Mbishei blew Ethiopia's defending champion and pre-event favourite, Ibrahim Jeilan, away. In the final reckoning, it was a sub-60 second final lap which confirmed the arrival of Bett and Mbishei as true champions at this stage by them winning the gold and silver.
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