Running a breathtaking and gripping race, Almaza Ayana shattered the long standing 10000m World Record (WR) to win GOLD with an astonishing time of 29:17.45, winning the first final of any Athletics event at the Rio 2016 Olympics.
The story is even more interesting when considered that this is Ayana’s second competitive 10,000m on the track after running the fastest time ever recorded in a debut for the 10,000m, clocking a then World Lead (WL) of 30:07.00
Ayana was in dominant form when with 12 laps to go she took her destiny in her hands, going past Alice Aprot Nawowuna who was leading up to that point. From that moment it was Ayana in firm control and she utterly destroyed the field as she smashed Wang Junxia’s 23-year old WR of 29:31.78, shaving off almost 14s from that time.
It was such an incredible race, all credit to Ayana who dragged others to churned out good times, more than they had ever run. In fact to put things into contest, the next 12 finishers either ran, and Area Record (AR), National Record (NR) or Personal Bests (PB).
London 2012 Bronze medallist Vivian Jepkemoi Cheruiyot tried to stay with Ayana, but there’s hardly anybody who could as the Kenyan even ran a new NR of 29:32.53.
To put into contest how Ayana pushed other athletes, 2012 champion Tirunesh Dibaba who was making a comeback from childbirth ran a lifetime best of 29:42.56 to win Bronze.
Dibaba shaved off 12s from her former Olympic Record of (OR) 29:54.66, but she could be content that she made the podium, less than a year after her comeback.
Now Ayana will get a four-day rest before coming back to compete in the 5000m and possibly attack Dibaba’s WR as well.
