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Ayana Crushes World Record in 10,000m, Huddle Sets American RecordPublished by
The Greatest 10,000m Race of All-TimeBy Scott Bush Track and field action got underway at the Rio Olympics Friday morning, as the lead women in the 10,000m final turning the race into the greatest race over the distance in history. What HappenedFrom the gun, a back of eight women, led by Kenya's Alice Aprot Nawowuna pushed the pace, making the early pace extremely honest. The rest of the field packed up, knowing full well they couldn't handle the pace for the full 6.2 miles. For American distance fans, Molly Huddle gave them plenty cheer for, hanging on to the back of the lead pack for the first few miles. As the race continued on, passing through half way for the top runners in 14:46, the pace continues to drive forward with Almaz Ayana (ETH) eventually taking over and really pushing the pace, with only Vivian Cheruiyot (KEN) trying to hang with. The reigning 5000m world record holder continued to push, hammering the pace so hard that Cheruiyot eventually dropped well back and Ayana knew the victory was hers. Over the final laps, the world record was all but certain to go down and in the final homestretch Ayana powered to the line, crossing 14 seconds ahead of the world record with a winning mark of 29:17.45, well ahead of Cheruiyot's runner-up finish of 29:32.53. Tirunesh Dibaba (ETH) finished tremendously well over the final 400m to win in 29:42.56. Portland-based Betsy Saina (KEN) finished fifth overall in 30:07.78, while Molly Huddle, coming off a 14:55 first half 5000m split, crushed the American 10,000m record with a sixth place finish of 30:13.17. Last year's 10,000m bronze medalist at the World Championships, Emily Infeld, placed 11th overall with a new personal best of 31:26.94. Results
What Does It MeanAyana set the world record by 14 seconds, a record previously owned by China's Junxia Wang set in 1993. While Wang was never convicted of doping, it's long been suggested she did indeed use performance enhancing drugs. Four of the top five performances of all-time occurred in the race. Huddle's 30:13.17 bested Shalane Flanagan's American record of 30:22.22. Her 5000m split in the race of 14:55 would rank her in the U.S. top ten all-time in the event. So...Huddle's performance just shows how special it was. The top 13 finishers all set personal bests.
Top Ten Women's 10,000m All-Time29:17.45 - Almaz Ayana (ETH) - 2016 Women's 10,000m Final Results
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