ETH) and Craig Mottram (OCE-AUS) broke away from the field early on, with Bekele setting the pace and Mottram dogging his footsteps.
At the 2200-metre mark (two to go), Mottram went into the lead and picked up the pace in an apparent attempt to get away from Bekele's finishing kick.
But surprise!
As they went into the back straight on the final lap, it was Mottram who sprinted away and produced the stronger finish. Bekele hung tough for another 150 metres but as they came off the final turn Mottram showed another gear and came home 20 metres to the good in 7:32.19 to the Ethiopian's 7:36.25.
Four years ago in Madrid Mottram scored his first major international victory in this same race in the World Cup.
After the race, Bekele said, tellingly, "It was a very hard race. It's very difficult to run without a pace maker."
James Dunaway
