Adere almighty!

Berhane Adere had just crossed the line to win the World Championships 10,000 metres in the third fastest time ever. She threw her arms out in a wave to the crowd, then she brought them back in close to her body, hugging herself briefly across the chest.

When you win your first World outdoor championships at the age of 30, you have to congratulate the person who did most of the work.

Adere is the fourth of six children. She comes from a family of rich farmers in the Shewa district of Ethiopia. Recently married, Adere has made enough money in the past two years to help support an extended family of cousins, uncles and aunts.

She is deeply religious and thanked God for help with her win.

During the race, in fact, Adere wore earrings in the shape of a cross. She also wore a third tiny cross, hanging from her neck on thin black sewing thread.

"Two years ago I was defeated by one second," she said, referring to Derartu Tulu’s defeat of her in Edmonton. "Since that time I have trained real hard."

Make no mistake about it: This is a different Adere than we saw in Edmonton. There, during the Radcliffe - Tulu showdown, Adere played an anonymous supporting role (one of the runners we don’t focus our binoculars on during the back stretch even though she is in the lead pack). And even when the smoke had cleared, and Adere, was an oh-so-close second, she was still an afterthought.

No more. The French have dubbed her "Adere Tout-Puissante." Adere Almighty. In the past two years, Adere has emerged as THE dominant force on the track in women’s distance running.

Next Saturday she is the outright favourite to win the 5000 and double in Paris.

"I will run the 5000, for sure," Adere said during the post-race press conference. Those last two words undoubtedly putting the big scare into all her rivals.

As did her kick. If her rivals were there at the stadium, they saw it and looked away. If they were back at the hotel watching on TV, they probably clicked it off because Adere won the race 250 metres out. Just like that.

It was an acceleration worthy of the horse Sea Biscuit, and the crowd responded with one of those synchronized gasps that are reserved for the really awesome displays of athleticism.

Adere continued to gallop around the turn, powering forcefully to the line, easing up only at the end when she was sure the ghost of Tulu was not going to catch her.

Not tonight.