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Report06 Aug 1997


Event report women 5000m heats

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The favourites, Gabriella Szabo (Romania) and Fernanda Ribeiro (Portugal), both got through to the final winning their heats easily. Szabo took the first heat in 15:26.62 and Ribeiro the second in 15:27.30. The heat affected both races as many runners appeared to be stressed by the conditions. One candidate for the final, Kristina da Fonseca-Wollheim (Germany), was forced to leave the track after 4000m. Sonia O'Sullivan (Ireland) did not qualify for the final, the only big name who failed to advance. Despite a frantic final sprint, she finished 7th in heat 2 with a time of 15:40.82. Paula Radcliffe (Great Britain) was in control of heat one for most of the race but Szabo passed her in the latter part of the final lap. Fourth in heat 1 was 1996 Olympic bronze medallist Roberta Brunet (Italy) with a time of 15:29.03. Lydia Cheromei (Kenya) led the second heat until 3000m. Then Ribeiro took command and led until the end. Second in the heat was Liu Jianying (China) in her personal best time of 15:29.28, Cheromei 3rd with 15:32.00.
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