OSAKA, Japan - (September 2, 2007) - Bernard Lagat made World Championships history Sunday evening at Nagai Stadium as the Tucson, Ariz. resident came back from his thrilling 1500 meter victory on Wednesday to win the 5000 meter final.
Lagat, 32, became the first runner ever to win the 1500m / 5000m double at the World Championships, and only the third in the history of global championships (Hicham el Guerrouj in 2004 and Paavo Nurmi in 1924 won Olympic doubles). Osaka was Lagat's first global championships since the 2004 Olympics; he became a citizen of the United States earlier that year and had to wait three years before representing his new country internationally.
A tactical race set up the two-time Olympic 1500m medalist Lagat and his strong finishing speed, though he had earlier expressed a willingness to attempt to break the U.S. record (12:58.21 by Bob Kennedy) should the pace be fast.
Instead, Lagat's would be the slowest 5000m victory in World Championships history, as he kicked away from 2003 World Champion Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya to win 13:45.87 to 13:46.00.
"I think that it was one of the best races I've ever ran in the 5000. I was ready for a fast race, and I was ready for a slow race," Lagat said. "The double means a lot to me. I'm the first one to accomplish the double, and I feel I'm going to set an example for the young ones."
Behind Lagat, USA teammate Matt Tegenkamp ran a smart race too. Moving from sixth to fourth in the final 200 meters, Tegenkamp of Madison, Wis. challenged eventual bronze medalist Moses Kipsiro of Uganda until the very end, eventually falling short by only .03 seconds, 13:46.75 to 13:46.78. Kipsiro's bronze was won by the slimmest margin in World Championships history.
Team USA's third runner, Adam Goucher, was 11th in 13:53.17.
The 5000 meters capped a successful championships for U.S. distance runners, with Lagat winning two golds and Kara Goucher earning bronze in the 10,000 meters plus other top 10 U.S. finishes.
11th IAAF Track & Field World Championships
Osaka, JPN, Sunday, September 2, 2007
MEN'S 5000m
1) Bernard Lagat (USA), 13:45.87, $60,000, gold
2) Eliud Kipchoge (KEN), 13:46.00, $30,000, silver
3) Moses Ndiema Kipsiro (UGA), 13:46.75, $20,000, bronze
4) Matt Tegenkamp (USA), 13:46.78, $15,000
5) Tariku Bekele (ETH), 13:47.33, $10,000
6) Mohammed Farah (GBR), 13:47.54, $6000
7) Jesús España (ESP), 13:50.55, $5000
8) Abraham Cherkos (ETH), 13:51.01, $4000
9) Felix Kikwai Kibore (QAT), 13:51.18,
10) Ali Abdalla (ERI), 13:52.69,
11) Adam Goucher (USA), 13:53.17
Complete results and more at: http://osaka2007.iaaf.org/index.html
# # #
Special thanks to
Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Services Director.
385 Oak View Lane
Santa Barbara, CA 93111
(805) 696-6232, fax (805) 967-5958
Ryan@RunningUSA.org
http://www.runningusa.org
RSS Feed
?
