AYANA BREAKS WORLD RECORD

ETHIOPIAN LEADS GREATEST EVER WOMEN’S 25-LAP RACE, SMASHING WANG JUNXIA’S 23-YEAR-OLD GLOBAL MARK

10,000M

ATHLETICS fans had been patiently waiting for track and field action to begin at the Games and what a start it was, with a world record-breaking performance in the very first final on the programme.

Almaz Ayana: took women’s distance running to a new level with her 29:17.45

Almaz Ayana’s victory came as no surprise. The 24-year-old had clocked a world-leading 30:07.00 on her 10,000m debut at the Ethiopian trials in Hengelo, beating world silver medallist Gelete Burka and defending Olympic champion Tirunesh Dibaba, and with a 14:12.59 5000m also from this year she was clearly the athlete to beat. But it was the way she won which was astounding. On a cool and damp morning, the Ethiopian delivered a sensational performance to not only get the gold but do so in style, obliterating one of the most impressive world records in the process.

Negative splits: 14:30 second half

Clocking 29:17.45 in only her second 10,000m race, the winner took more than 14 seconds off the mark set by Wang Junxia, one of several Chinese who rewrote the record books in 1993 while being coached by the controversial Ma Junren. The record had been considered unbreakable by many, but not only did Ayana smash it, she led Vivian Cheruiyot to a time just outside that mark with a Kenyan best 29:32.53, while Dibaba ran a PB 29:42.56 and Alice Aprot, who pushed the pace in the first half of the race, ran a 29:53.51 PB to go to fifth all-time. s