Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet surged to the Olympic women’s 10,000 metres gold medal in 30 minutes 43.25 seconds on Friday to add to her 5,000 title at the Games.
Italian Nadia Battocletti took silver in 30:43.35 and Dutchwoman Sifan Hassan, the gold medal winner in Tokyo, finished third in 30:44.12.
World record holder Chebet did her share of the early pace-making and when the pack broke into a sprint with one lap remaining she pulled away on the final turn to deliver Kenya’s first gold medal in the event.
Battocletti, who finished third in the 5,000m but had her bronze medal taken away when Kenyan Faith Kipyegon’s disqualification was overturned, made sure of her podium spot in the longer race.
Eritrea’s Rahel Daniel, the leader through the first two laps, dropped out after 2,000 metres as Chebet stayed near the front of the pack at a comfortable pace.
Her compatriots Margaret Kipkemboi and Lilian Rengeruk joined her about two-thirds of the way through, as Hassan tried her usual strategy of hanging around near the back of the pack.
Hassan made her move with 400 metres to go as the leaders broke into an all-out sprint and Kipkemboi and Rengeruk lost ground as Battocletti moved past them.
Chebet ran down the final straight on her own and looked up at the results with sheer joy on her face before wrapping herself in the Kenyan flag.
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