While the United States has been focused on the meteoric rise of Gabrielle Douglas and her stunning gold-medal gymnastic performance at the 2012 Olympic Games, the trio of Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia, Sally Kipyego andVivian Cheruiyot, both of Kenya, have flown largely under the radar.
Dibaba, better known as the “Baby-Faced Destroyer,” took home the gold medal in the 10,000m with decisive precision in a historic race to the finish. Kipyego and Cheruiyot won the silver and bronze, respectively.
Dibaba, a seven-time world champion and also Olympic champion and world record holder in the 5000m, clocked 30min 20.75sec to finish ahead of Kenyans Sally Kipyego(30:26.37) and Vivian Cheruiyot (30:30.44), the reigning world champion.
Dibaba’s achievement meant she matched her cousin Derartu Tulu in becoming the second woman to win two Olympic gold medals in the women’s 10,000m. It also meant that Kenya have still never won the event.
It was a welcome return to form for the 26-year-old Dibaba, who missed the world cross-country champs in Jordan and the world championships in Berlin in 2009 because of nagging injuries.
The Japanese trio of runners took their customary lead through the first 10 circuits of the 25-lap race before the Kenyans took over the pace making.
Joyce Chepkirui, the Kenyan cross-country champion, and reigning world silver medallist Kipyego upped the tempo as the field began to string out as they hit 5000m in 15:32.06.
These sisters showed up and showed out today! NewsOne salutes our Black athletes around the world.
Read more at the IndianTimes.com.