Beijing: Team Effort Leads to Ethiopia’s second Gold, First Silver

August 18th, 2008 | EthioPolitics.com |

^{Ethiopia runners Haile Gebrselassie, Sileshi Sihine and Kenenisa Bekele. Beijing, Aug.17 2008.}

Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele retained his Olympic title in the 10,000 meters, relying on a sprint to pull away from countrymen Sileshi Sihine. Bekele’s time was 27:01.17. Micah Kogo of Kenya came in third for the bronze medal. Bekele, who set the world record for the distance in 2005, did not best that time today, but he did set a new Olympic record, beating the record he set in Athens in 2004.

Although Gebrselassie finished only sixth, his performance in this race helped set the pace for his compatriots. Gebrselassie took gold in the 10,000 meters at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 and the Sydney games in 2000.

“I had very good preparation and am delighted to have won the Olympic gold for the second time,” said Bekele, who may well now run the 5,000m.

Asked whether he could now compare himself with Gebrselassie, who was also a double Olympic 10,000m champion, Bekele answered, “Before I can do that, I’ll have to win big races for quite a few more years yet.”

“I would have liked to be higher up the field, but in the end the pace was too strong for me,” said Gebrselassie. “I knew that Kenenisa would win. And if he runs the 5,000m, he’ll win that as well.” Gebrselassie will now continue his preparations for running the Berlin Marathon at the end of September. There he wants to bring his world record of 2:04:26 under 2:04.

Surprisingly, the 35-year-old Gebrselassie said that Beijing would not be his last Olympics; he said he plans to run in 2012 in London, though he’s not yet decided whether he will attempt the 10,000 or the marathon.

^{Video - Bekele wins Beijing Olympic 10,000m, Sileshi wins silver}