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News22 Sep 2007


Women's 5000m

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Vivian Cheruiyot, the secondfastest female 5,000m runner in history, used a strong last lap to win the Kenyan-dominated race here in Stuttgart. The event was missing defending champion and world record holder Meseret Defar, who has opted to contest only the 3,000m, tomorrow.

A thin field almost assured a conservative early pace, with only six women starting. Linet Masai took the early pace, passing the first kilometer just after 3:00, and the remaining runners fell in line behind her as though in a paced time trial--except, of course, that the pace was well off the season's bests of half the field, barring Masai herself, late addition Sylvia Jebiwott Kibet, and Russian Kseniya Agafonova, who trailed by the end of the second kilometre (6:02.)

The pack bunched at that point, and Cheruiyot took the lead briefly before Masai returned to the front and the single-file line was restored. Masai remained in the lead past 4000m (12:08.75) and through the bell in 13:55.

Predictably, the race began then, with Cheruiyot and Kibet the strongest sprinters. Cheruiyot had the advantage off the curve, and kept it to the line, winning in 14:56.94. Kibet ran a PB in second (14:57.37) with Priscah Jepleting Cherono in third (14:58.97). Masai completed the Kenyan sweep in fourth.

Parker Morse for IAAF

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