Beatrice Chebet added another global accolade to her growing list of honours, winning the women’s 10,000m title on the first day of the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25.
Chebet outpaced her opponents in the last 200 metres with a devastating kick to win her first world title on the track, crossing the line in 30:37.61.
As was the case at last year’s Olympic Games, Italy’s Nadia Batocletti finished second to Chebet in a national record, this time clocking 30:38.23. Gudaf Tsegay, the defending champion, completed the podium places.
Chebet came into Tokyo on the back of winning gold in the 5000m and 10,000m at the Paris Olympic Games last year. Tsegay, meanwhile, was keen to make amends after missing out on any medal in the French capital.
Chebet and compatriot Agnes Ngetich led from the front early on in front of a packed stadium before home hero Ririka Hironaka took charge.
Clad in a cap, the two-time Asian Games silver medallist set the pace with Ngetich and Battocletti keeping a watchful eye on her.
Hironaka lost the cap after six laps with the chasing group still closely-knit together. Ngetich moved to the front after eight laps with Chebet following in tow as Hironaka dropped off.
The Kenyan duo increased the pace as Ethiopian Fotyen Tefsay tried to follow. Tsegay later made her first move of the race, tucking in behind Chebet and Ngetich.
At half way, reached in 15:16.33, the two Kenyans, three Ethiopians and Batocletti broke ranks with the rest of the group, setting up the stage for a familiar finish.
Tsegay and her compatriots were happy to sit back and let Ngetich and Jebet lead. Tesfay was soon dropped, leaving only five women in the leading pack: Chebet, Ngetich, Battocletti, Tsegay and Ejgayehu Taye, the bronze medallist two years ago.
The five women ran together for a few kilometres until there were just three laps to go, at which point Tsegay hit the front for the first time.
Right on cue, Chebet moved up a gear to keep tabs on the defending champion. Taye was dropped with less than a kilometre to go. Meanwhile, the noise inside the stadium soon became deafening as the lead quartet came round the corner to take the bell.
With half a lap remaining, Chebet overtook Tsegay before curving in on the home straight, employing her devastating kick to romp to her first world track title.
Batocletti followed the world record-holder to take second as Tsegay crossed the line in third in 30:39.65. Ngetich, world record-holder for 10km on the roads, missed out on the medal places despite leading for much of the race.
Hironaka crossed the line in sixth place in 31:09.62, much to the delight of the home crowd.
Speaking after the race, an elated Chebet revealed that she had ticked off an item on her bucket list.
“I am so happy,” said Chebet, who has two Olympic gold medals, two world cross-country titles, a world 5km title on the roads, and world records at 5000m and 10,000m. “Coming here, I said I don’t have a gold medal from the World Championships, so I have to go for it. And I got it. I just want to thank everyone who supported me.”
Chebet will now shift her focus to the 5000m as she seeks to become the first athlete to win both events at the World Championships since Mo Farah in 2015.
Martin Moses for World Athletics
AloJapan.com