The World Athletics Council has approved the following decisions on future qualification systems for championship events and for the future rotation of the World Athletics Relays.
<h2>Entry standards and world rankings</h2>
The Council has approved the continuation of the current qualification system structure for World Athletics Championships and Olympic Games.
Therefore, the target 50/50 split of athletes qualified through entry standards and the world rankings, which was used for the Olympic Games in Tokyo and is in use for the World Athletics Championships Oregon22, will remain in use for the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest and the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
The Council plans to review the world rankings system later this year, and subsequently approve the scoring system for 2023.
<h2>Marathon qualification system for Paris</h2>
To enable early selection, as well as national trials, for the Olympic Games marathon in Paris, the Council has approved a two-step procedure for the Olympic marathon qualification system.
On 6 February 2024, any athlete
-&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; having achieved the entry standard (to be confirmed at a later Council session)
or
-&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ranked higher than the 65th athlete on the filtered (three athletes per national Olympic committee) &lsquo;Road to Paris&rsquo; list
will be considered qualified and eligible for immediate selection.
In addition, the Council also approved a quota reallocation option in the marathon only. Any national Olympic committee may choose to reallocate a quota place to an unqualified athlete, provided the athlete has achieved at least a 2:11:30 (men) or 2:29:30 (women) eligibility performance within the qualification window.
The entry standards for the marathon will be approved by the Council at a later meeting.
<h2>Future rotation of World Athletics Relays</h2>
Since 2015, the World Athletics Relays has been a biennial event, taking place in odd years to serve as a World Athletics Championships qualifying event in the championship disciplines as well as offering race opportunities in the less traditional events such as the shuttle hurdles relays and the 2x2x400m mixed team relay.
Having evaluated recent editions, the Council has decided to change the future scheduling of this event to an even-year rotation, starting in 2024. The event will serve as the trials in Olympic years, with the Council to approve a detailed format of the event at the next Council meeting in July.&nbsp;
<h2>Inclusion of 5km/10km in 5000m/10,000m qualification systems for Budapest and Paris</h2>
Acknowledging the popularity and performance level of the 5km and 10km road events, the Council has decided that both disciplines will be included in the qualification system for the 5000m and 10,000m respectively at future championships.
Therefore, it will be possible to qualify for the 5000m and the 10,000m at eligible road events, and results achieved in the road events will count towards the world rankings in the 5000m and 10,000m.
<h2>Inclusion of cross country rankings in qualification systems for Budapest and Paris</h2>
Following the launch of the World Athletics Cross Country Tour as well as the cross country rankings, the Council has decided to modify the cross country qualification pathway for the 10,000m at future championships.
The top 15 men and women in the World Cross Country Championships 2019 were automatically qualified in the 10,000m for the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha. Following the latest decision made by the Council, this will be replaced by a new pathway.
Starting with the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23, the top eight men and top eight women in the cross country rankings, who are not already qualified via entry standard or world 10,000m ranking, will be automatically qualified.
Entry standards in the 10,000m for Budapest will be approved by the Council in July this year.
World Athletics

The World Athletics Council has approved decisions on future qualification systems for championship events and for the future rotation of the World Athletics Relays

Competition decisions on qualification for future championship events

A look back at the key moments of 2021 in the middle and long distance events

2021 review: middle and long distance

We continue our countdown to the World Athletics Awards 2021 on 1 December by taking a closer look at the achievements of the five women and five men who have this week been confirmed as the finalists for the Athlete of the Year awards.
&nbsp;
<h2>Sifan Hassan</h2>
&ldquo;If you do long distance,&rdquo; said Sifan Hassan after claiming her third Olympic medal in Tokyo, &ldquo;it's like building a house.&rdquo; If that&rsquo;s the case, then the Dutch distance running star has produced a palace in 2021.
Hassan was replying to a comment about her having been seen running in the Olympic Village in between her nine-day schedule of six races in Japan. "It's not only about talent,&rdquo; she added. &ldquo;You can have two or three talents, but you have to work hard also."
So there she was, building hard towards her unprecedented medal treble. It paid off, as she left Japan with two golds, in the 5000m and 10,000m, plus bronze in the 1500m. Eleventh on the medals table &ndash; that&rsquo;s where Hassan would have placed had she formed her own one-woman team.
"Many people doubted that it would happen,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Is it possible, is it not possible? When I think about it, it feels like a dream. But it has happened.
&ldquo;This Olympics is one of the best feelings I've ever had in my life. It's something special. I'll never forget it.&rdquo;
Hassan&rsquo;s season had started with wins over 5000m and 800m in the USA in May, but she took things to another level a couple of weeks later. Running 29:06.82 at the FBK Games in Hengelo, the 28-year-old took more than 10 seconds off the world 10,000m record that had been set by Ethiopia's Almaz Ayana at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. 
<iframe title="vimeo-player" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/649132812?h=e814c8c890" width="640" height="640" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
 &ldquo;I am so happy to share this record in front of my Dutch fans,&rdquo; said Hassan, who had previously broken world records in the mile, one hour event and road 5km.
Incredibly, the 10,000m mark stood just two days, as back on the same Hengelo track, Letesenbet Gidey improved it by a further five seconds to 29:01.03 to win the Ethiopian Trials.
But rather than that world record being the pinnacle of her season, Hassan was only just getting started. Four days after her Hengelo run, she ran 3:53.63 for a 1500m win at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Florence. The following month she clocked 3:53.60 to place second in Monaco &ndash; behind Kenya&rsquo;s Faith Kipyegon, who would go on to retain her Olympic title &ndash; and then it was time for Tokyo. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/610e7eb7455c4a1d10ace1c5.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
 First came 5000m gold. Despite running, and falling, in the 1500m heats earlier on in the day, Hassan returned to the track 12 hours later to clock 14:36.79 after timing her winning kick to perfection.
Four days later she secured bronze in the 1500m behind Kipyegon and Britain&rsquo;s Laura Muir and she was back on the track less than 24 hours after that, seeking to become only the second woman after Ethiopia&rsquo;s Tirunesh Dibaba in 2008 to complete the Olympic 5000m and 10,000m double.
She achieved it. Unleashing her trademark kick, she covered the final 100m in 13.6, clocking 29:55.32 to get gold.
&ldquo;I am so happy and I cried during the medal ceremony,&rdquo; said Hassan. &ldquo;I actually realised that I am done, the Games are over.&rdquo;
&nbsp;
<h2>Joshua Cheptegei</h2>
The world 5000m record-breaker became the Olympic champion in 2021. Despite wondering whether he should even race the event at all in Tokyo, Joshua Cheptegei rebounded to get 5000m gold, running the second-fastest ever Olympic time of 12:58.15 one week after securing silver in the 10,000m.
&ldquo;I have learned the most important things are achieved no matter the difficulties or challenges,&rdquo; Cheptegei told NN Running Team when reflecting on his year. &ldquo;Of course, I don&rsquo;t look at my medal every day, but when I do it acts as a reminder that, wow, I can fight back, and I know in the future I can get better and better.&rdquo;
That&rsquo;s an exciting prospect, given that the Ugandan 25-year-old is already a treble world record-holder, a world champion and now an Olympic champion.
After the high of setting world records at 5000m, 10,000m and 5km on the road in 2020, Cheptegei started this year on a winning note, claiming victory at the Monaco Run &ndash; the same event at which he broke the world record with 12:51 12 months earlier. 
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 But then an infection affected his preparations for the Olympic Games and after a 3000m win at the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting in Ostrava, he was disappointed to place sixth at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Florence. &ldquo;I was not really healthy at the time with an infection. It shattered my body,&rdquo; he said.
After winning the world 10,000m title in Doha in 2019, Cheptegei was determined to add another global title to his CV, so he refocused ahead of the Olympics. Lining up for his sole 10,000m race of the year, he was slightly ahead with four laps to go and followed Ethiopia&rsquo;s Selemon Barega as he led at the bell, crossing the finish line in 27:43.63 for his first Olympic medal.
Four days later he was back in action for the 5000m heats, before he took his place in the final a week after his 10,000m silver medal performance.
&ldquo;Part of me thought it was not a wise decision to race,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;but the other part said, no, you&rsquo;ve prepared for this.&rdquo;
This time, only a win would do. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/610d367cc628cc00175b7a4a.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
 With 600m remaining, he made his move and surged away untroubled, gaining victory in 12:58.15 &ndash; a winning time only bettered at the Olympics by Kenenisa Bekele&rsquo;s Games record of 12:57.82 from 2008.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really a great moment,&rdquo; he said afterwards. &ldquo;I made a small mistake and I was regretting (having) to become a silver medallist (in the 10,000m).
&ldquo;I came here to become an Olympic champion and my dream has been fulfilled today on a beautiful evening.&rdquo;
After Tokyo, he had one more race left to run &ndash; the two miles at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Eugene. Clocking a world-leading 8:09.55, he ended his year on a high.
&ldquo;It really means a lot to me to win here in Oregon,&rdquo; he said, fresh from racing on the track that will host next year&rsquo;s World Athletics Championships, &ldquo;and it will always be in my heart.&rdquo;

We take a closer look at the achievements of the five women and five men who have been confirmed as finalists for Athlete of the Year.

Focus on finalists: Sifan Hassan and Joshua Cheptegei

On a bright, crisp autumnal Saturday morning in the English West Midlands last month, Lucy Barbour was striding along in the weekly Coventry 5km parkrun when she pulled out her camera and started videoing her accompanying father. &ldquo;Doing my bit for Help the Aged today,&rdquo; she quipped.
David Moorcroft just laughed. He has always been a self-deprecating soul.
At 68, he can still keep up with the young guns of the family. Or just about. Lucy crossed the line in 29:30, her Dad in 29:31.
There was a time, of course, when Moorcroft was the fastest 5000m runner in the world. The fastest in history, actually. 
<h2>Remarkable world record donations</h2>
Yesterday (18), Moorcroft was back again in the Bislett Stadium in Oslo to attend a <a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/heritage/plaque/news/warholm-moorcroft-donations-hansen-memorial-room-mowa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">special ceremony to open a new room in the stadium dedicated to the late Svein Arne Hansen</a>, director of the Bislett Games, president of European Athletics and World Athletics Council Member.
World Athletics Heritage Plaques were unveiled in the room honouring the trailblazing Norwegian distance runner Grete Waitz and the Oslo Bislett Games.
With Norway&rsquo;s Olympic 400m hurdles champion Karsten Warholm joining Moorcroft at the ceremony, Bislett&rsquo;s world record past and present were joined. Both record-breakers generously made donations to the World Athletics Heritage Collection&nbsp;and the&nbsp;<a style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;" href="https://www.worldathletics.org/heritage/mowa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Museum of World Athletics</a>&nbsp;(MOWA).
Warholm gave one of the spikes he wore on 1 July at this year&rsquo;s Bislett Games when he broke Kevin Young's 1992 world record.
Moorcroft presented the collection with the right shoe which he wore on 7 July 1982, when he took the breath away with the eighth of the 25 world record performances that have been established at the Bislett Games. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6197516e1a1e7845259d3f6c.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />David Moorcroft and his world record shoe which he has donated to the&nbsp;World Athletics Heritage Collection&nbsp;(&copy; Andr&eacute; Hjorteseth) 
<h2>Within a whisker of the 13-minute barrier</h2>
At the start of the 1982 meet, the 5000m world record stood at 13:06.20 to Henry Rono. The prolific world record machine was in the field alongside Moorcroft that night, but the Kenyan who owned five of the six fastest 5000m times in history was rendered a distant also-ran when the 29-year-old Briton pulled away from the field with just 800m gone.
Such was the lead that Moorcroft established, Ralph King of the USA presumed he was an over-zealous pacemaker who had dropped out long before the finish. As he outsprinted Moorcroft&rsquo;s British compatriot Nick Rose to cross the line in a respectable 13:20.85, King celebrated what he presumed was a victory. In fact, he had finished second, with Rose third, and Rono fourth in 13:25.14.
Moorcroft had been relentless, a man inspired. &ldquo;He really is pouring it on,&rdquo; the late, great Ron Pickering said in his BBC TV commentary as the blue and white vested, clean-striding Moorcroft approached the line. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a tremendous run. He&rsquo;s well inside it (the world record). He&rsquo;s smashed it wide open.&rdquo;
Stunningly, the man from Coventry Godiva Harriers came within a whisker of smashing the 13-minute barrier, let alone the world record. His finishing time was given as 13:00.42 but was later amended to 13:00.41 after the photo finish picture had been examined. 
<h2>&ldquo;It was hard to grasp&rdquo;</h2>
It was as breath-taking a performance as any of the myriad world record runs achieved in the preceding three years by Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett, the dashing British middle-distance duo whose deeds &ndash; together with those of the emerging Steve Cram &ndash; had left Moorcroft in the relative shadows as a 1500m-man and miler.
It came as a surprise to no-one more than Moorcroft himself. Seventh in the Olympic 1500m final in Montreal back in 1976 and winner of the Commonwealth 1500m title in Edmonton in 1978, a stomach bug had scuppered his bid to make his mark over 5000m at the Moscow Olympics in 1980. He exited at the semifinal stage in the Russian capital.
In 1981 Moorcroft could only finish 13th in the Golden 5000m at Gateshead, a quasi-world title race, clocking 13:37.51. Victory in Lausanne and in the European Cup Final race in Zagreb pointed towards a breakthrough of sorts, but Moorcroft still lined up at the Bislett Stadium that night in July 1982 with a lifetime best of 13:20.51.
No wonder, in the midst of the hysteria that followed, he stole away from the meeting hotel to spend some time alone sitting next to a moonlit lake trying to come to terms with the quantum leap he had taken &ndash; a midnight scene evocatively depicted in the opening chapter of Running Commentary, the autobiography Moorcroft penned with the assistance of the peerless Sunday Times athletics correspondent, the late, greatly missed, Cliff Temple.
&ldquo;It was hard to grasp,&rdquo; Moorcroft recalled. &ldquo;What was a world record-holder supposed to feel? It was so unexpected that I had never even considered it, and only now had I managed to break away from the distractions which had followed me since I crossed the line in Bislett Stadium.
&ldquo;Everyone meant well; they wanted to know how I had taken six seconds off the world 5000m record, running on my own. Yet how could I tell them when I did not even know myself?&rdquo; 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/619756455640ba7f5c8f6817.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />Karsten Warholm and David Moorcroft with a picture of Svein Arne Hansen at the Bislett Stadium (&copy; Andr&eacute; Hjorteseth)&nbsp; 
<h2>Fighting to overcome disappointment</h2>
It was perhaps the steely determination forged within the engagingly equable Moorcroft after countless years of battling to overcome setbacks &ndash; injuries, illnesses, frustratingly disappointing performances &ndash; that ultimately propelled this seemingly modest soul to a super-human feat.
As a student, Moorcroft failed the English 11-plus and O level examinations, yet ended up with a university honours degree. As a running novice, he finished last in the Coventry schools&rsquo; cross country race, and then 206th in his first race at national level, the English youths&rsquo; cross country race, yet by 1982 he was a veteran of two Olympic Games and a double major championship medal winner, having taken European 1500m bronze behind Steve Ovett and Eamonn Coghlan, as well as Commonwealth 1500m gold ahead of Filbert Bayi in 1978.
He had become accustomed to fighting to overcome disappointment, and to better himself. And, in early in 1982, he underwent a sea change in attitude in the training he followed under the inspirational direction of John Anderson, the fiery Scottish coach who guided Liz McColgan to world 10,000m gold in 1991, and who gained wider celebrity in Britain as the referee in the Gladiators television show.
As Moorcroft reflected in Running Commentary: &ldquo;Never have I felt so masochistic and aggressive in training. For a span of between three and six months, for some reason I was not a particularly pleasant person. I felt very frustrated at that time, but the change which came over me was both quite uncharacteristic and, in retrospect, puzzling.
&ldquo;I was taking everything out of myself in training. I was putting 101% effort into every run, then going back for more.
&ldquo;At last, I had no physical ailments. I had a good winter behind me. I was running brilliantly in training. And I was 29 years old. I had to face up to the fact that this was the moment of truth&hellip;&rdquo; 
<h2>Confidence booster</h2>
The first test of the new-found Moorcroft mettle came in the Golden Mile in Oslo on 25 June. The showpiece four-lap race in the Norwegian capital held painful memories. Back in 1979, when Coe followed up his stunning 1:42.33 world 800m record with a new global four-lap mark of 3:48.95 (the second of his epic spree of three world records in 41 days), Moorcroft had trailed in a dejected ninth in 3:54.35, a personal best nonetheless.
Three years on, Moorcroft finished third behind the US duo Steve Scott and Sydney Maree in 3:49.34 &ndash; a mighty five seconds improvement, and a significant confidence booster for the 5000m back at Bislett two weeks later.
His target was the British record held by his good friend Brendan Foster: 13:14.6. He was on course for that with a 4:11.1 opening mile but when he went through 3000m in 7:50.2, a full 10 seconds ahead of schedule, he suddenly realised he was on 13 minute pace. Only when he reached the bell in 12:02, however, did he fully comprehend the reality that the world record was within his grasp.
Writing in The Sunday Times the following weekend, Temple commented: &ldquo;Moorcroft proved in Oslo that it is still possible to step out into unknown territory and reach out for the limits, without needing to keep behind a pacemaker with a key in his back.
&ldquo;Earlier in the day Moorcroft had been gnawed by uncertainty as to how to run the race, haunted by past tactical errors, slight but magnified in his own perfectionist mind to gigantic proportions.
&ldquo;He knew he was in excellent form and that night he was like a bottle of champagne waiting to pop. And at last he was virtually free of injury. It took an operation on both calves last autumn to relieve real pain which, for six years, had one way or another prevented him turning in the kind of performance to shake the world.&rdquo; 
<h2>European 3000m record</h2>
Sadly, the shadow of injury and illness was to return and blight most of the rest of Moorcroft&rsquo;s running career.
He followed up his world record run with a thrilling 3000m win on home soil at Crystal Palace, outsprinting Maree in 7:32.29, a European record and the second fastest clocking of all-time, with the likes of Scott, Ovett and John Walker trailing distantly behind.
Exhausted by the time he reached the European Championships in Athens that summer, after being pressured by the British Amateur Athletics Board into running more races than he wanted, Moorcroft took 5000m bronze behind West Germany&rsquo;s Thomas Wessinghage and East German Werner Schildhauer, but recovered to take 5000m gold at the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6197546da639ae7e688cb517.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />David Moorcroft competes in the 5000m semifinals at the 1984 LA Olympic Games&nbsp;(&copy; Getty Images)
 The world record-holder reached the 5000m final at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984 but, sorely hampered by pelvic and groin injuries, laboured across the line a distant 14th and last in 14:16.61 as Said Aouita took gold in 13:05.59, an Olympic record.
In 1985 the Moroccan shaved 0.01 off Moorcroft&rsquo;s world record in Oslo and two years later became the first man to crack 13 minutes, clocking 12:58.39 in Rome.
After finally hanging up his spikes, Moorcroft distinguished himself as a television commentator and administrator. As chief executive, he transformed the ailing British Athletics Federation into the thriving UK Athletics.
And now, at 68 &ndash; happily married for 46 years to the ever-supportive Linda, father to Paul and Lucy, and grandfather of four &ndash; &lsquo;old&rsquo; Dave Moorcroft can still be found pounding out a regular 5000m as a world record-breaker turned parkrunner.
Simon Turnbull for World Athletics Heritage

There was a time when David Moorcroft was the fastest 5000m runner in the world. The fastest in history, actually.

The night that Moorcroft took Bislett's breath away

World champion, world cross-country champion, world record-holder and, now, Olympic champion.
Joshua Cheptegei added to his already impressive career record on Friday (6) in Tokyo by winning the Olympic 5000m title, going one better than his finish in the 10,000m one week ago.
The Ugandan hit the front with 600 metres to go, producing a sustained charge towards the finish and crossing the line victorious in 12:58.15. Canada&rsquo;s Moh Ahmed (12:58.61) and Paul Chelimo (12:59.05) came through to take silver and bronze respectively.
Cheptegei moved into an early lead, controlling the field at a steady but not too fast pace. Ugandan teammate Jacob Kiplimo, the 10,000m bronze medallist, also took a stint at the front and led the field through 1000m (2:38.00) and 2000m (5:14.10).
World U20 cross-country champion Milkesa Mengesha, the only Ethiopian in the field, USA&rsquo;s Paul Chelimo and Kenya&rsquo;s Nicholas Kimeli were all near the front of the pack for most of the race, while Canadian duo Moh Ahmed and Justyn Knight were also never far behind. Spain&rsquo;s Mohamed Katir, considered by many as one of the pre-race favourites, spent most of the race in the middle of the pack.
Cheptegei moved back into the lead at half way, swapping places with Kiplimo, and the field went through 3000m in 7:55.25. Little more than a lap later, Kimeli &ndash; the only Kenyan in the race &ndash; went into the lead, passing through 4000m in 10:32.38 with most of the field still in contention.
With two laps to go, the large pack was finally starting to break up as Kimeli continued to lead the group, which was now down to 10 men and starting to bunch up, readying themselves for the final kick.
Cheptegei hit the front with 600 metres to go and didn&rsquo;t look back. By the time the bell sounded, the Ugandan had already opened a gap of a metre on Kimeli, Chelimo and Kiplimo. He entered the home straight still in control and strode to victory in 12:58.15, the second-fastest winning time at the Olympics after Kenenisa Bekele&rsquo;s Olympic record of 12:57.82.
Ahmed went from fourth to second down the home straight, taking silver in 12:58.61. Kimeli and Chelimo were locked in battle for bronze, but Chelimo just got the edge with a dive at the finish line, clocking 12:59.05 to finish 0.12 ahead of Kimeli.
Kiplimo faded in the final 200 metres and placed fifth in 13:02.40, ahead of Bahrain&rsquo;s Birhanu Balew (13:03.20), Knight (13:04.38) and Katir (13:06.60).
&ldquo;This medal is really very special because it comes at a point that I was feeling that maybe I was fatigued and tired,&rdquo; said Cheptegei. &ldquo;But I had to tell myself, &lsquo;if there is a time for me to become an Olympic champion, it is this year because I am still in my prime age and you never know what could happen in the next three years before Paris&rsquo;. I might not have the chance to defend the title, but this is really my special time to win the gold.&rdquo;
Jon Mulkeen for World Athletics
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 75%; border-color: #ffffff; border-style: solid;" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #fd5249; text-align: center;" colspan="3">MEN'S 5000m MEDALLISTS</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #e9c968; text-align: center;">🥇</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #e9c968;">Joshua Cheptegei 🇺🇬 UGA</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #e9c968;">12:58.15</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #ced4d9; text-align: center;">🥈</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #ced4d9;">Mohammed Ahmed 🇨🇦 CAN</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #ced4d9;">12:58.61</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #bd895e; text-align: center;">🥉</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #bd895e;">Paul Chelimo 🇺🇸 USA</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #bd895e;">12:59.05 SB</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #34495e; text-align: left;" colspan="3">&nbsp;&nbsp;<a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/olympic-games/the-xxxii-olympic-games-athletics-7132391/results/men/5000-metres/final/result" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Full results</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
&nbsp;

Joshua Cheptegei added to his already impressive CV by winning the Olympic 5000m title

Cheptegei adds to medal haul with 5000m gold

On Sunday, Sifan Hassan confirmed that she would be attempting an unprecedented Olympic treble in Tokyo. On Monday (2) she completed the first part of that mission by winning the 5000m title in impressive style.
After claiming world 1500m and 10,000m titles in Doha two years ago, the Dutch 28-year-old decided to try to go one better on the Olympic stage, adding the 5000m into the mix. Despite running, and falling, in the 1500m heats earlier on in the day, she returned to the track 12 hours later to clock 14:36.79 after timing her winning kick to perfection.
Such was the manner of her final surge, Kenya&rsquo;s two-time world champion and now two-time Olympic silver medallist Hellen Obiri could not respond but she held on to cross the finish line in 14:38.36 for her second successive Olympic runner-up finish.
Just behind her was Ethiopia&rsquo;s world-leader Gudaf Tsegay, running 14:38.87 for bronze, with Kenya&rsquo;s Agnes Tirop fourth (14:39.62) and Ethiopia&rsquo;s Ejgayehu Taye fifth (14:41.24).
"I can't believe it,&rdquo; beamed Hassan. &ldquo;I used all my energy this morning and I was kind of tired. I couldn't believe what happened. I felt terrible (after her 1500m fall) and I never thought I was going to be Olympic champion.
"I was so scared I wasn't going to do it." 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/610806b7c95c2d5d13ea2783.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
 The final may have featured five of the world&rsquo;s 10 fastest ever 5000m women, but the start was conservative, and it was Japan&rsquo;s Ririka Hironaka who took the early lead. The heavy rain to have fallen earlier in the evening had stopped, but conditions remained warm and humid as the race got under way.
Hironaka was to the fore through the first kilometre, passed in 3:00.7, just ahead of world indoor 1500m record-holder Tsegay, Obiri and Tirop. Hassan was sitting comfortably in 10th, showing no signs of the fall she had suffered in her 1500m heat, which she went on to win in 4:05.17.
Obiri, on the hunt for her first Olympic gold after world title wins indoors, outdoors and in cross country, added some pace before Taye took over at the front and led through 2000m with 6:00.3 on the clock.
Obiri and Taye continued to control proceedings over the next two kilometres, passing the 3000m mark in 8:59.9 and 4000m in 11:57.1, when a lead group of seven athletes started to break away. Hassan was at the back of the pack, behind Taye and Obiri, Tirop, Tsegay, Turkey&rsquo;s Yasemin Can and Ethiopia&rsquo;s Senbere Teferi. Again it was Taye and Obiri shoulder-to-shoulder with two laps to go, as Hassan sat in sixth.
Tsegay went wide to join Obiri at the front at the bell, with Hassan in fifth. Making a move with 300m to go, Hassan used some of the speed which has seen her clock 3:51.95 for 1500m to run the fastest ever last lap in a women&rsquo;s Olympic 5000m final. Part of a 2:04.69 final 800m, Hassan clocked a 57.09 last 400m and 27.7 for her final 200m. Although Obiri fought off the final bend, Hassan was well away and after a few glances over her shoulder she was dominant down the home straight, spreading her arms wide in celebration as she crossed the finish line.
Receiving the Netherlands flag for her victory lap, Hassan draped it over her body as she knelt down and then curled up in a ball on the track, the first part of her treble attempt ticked off.
&ldquo;I know that Sifan is good over the final 400m and I tried to hold her, but there was nothing I could do. I tried my best,&rdquo; said Obiri, who was pleased with her second Olympic silver. &ldquo;To be No.2, it is quite amazing because it is a big achievement.&rdquo;
Behind the top five, Teferi was sixth in 14:45.11, while Italy&rsquo;s European under-23 champion Nadia Battocletti came through for seventh, clocking a PB of 14:46.29. Can finished eighth in 14:46.49, while Hironaka broke the Japanese record with 14:52.84 in ninth and Israel&rsquo;s Selamawit Teferi rounded out the top 10 in 14:54.39.
Hassan next returns to the track for the 1500m semifinals on 4 August, with the final on 6 August and the 10,000m final one day later.
Jess Whittington for World Athletics
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 75%; border-color: #ffffff; border-style: solid;" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #fd5249; text-align: center;" colspan="3">WOMEN'S 5000m MEDALLISTS</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #e9c968; text-align: center;">🥇</td>
<td style="width: 65%; background-color: #e9c968;">Sifan Hassan 🇳🇱 NED</td>
<td style="width: 25%; background-color: #e9c968;">14:36.79</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #ced4d9; text-align: center;">🥈</td>
<td style="width: 65%; background-color: #ced4d9;">Hellen Obiri 🇰🇪 KEN</td>
<td style="width: 25%; background-color: #ced4d9;">14:38.36</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #bd895e; text-align: center;">🥉</td>
<td style="width: 65%; background-color: #bd895e;">Gudaf Tsegay 🇪🇹 ETH</td>
<td style="width: 25%; background-color: #bd895e;">14:38.87</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #34495e; text-align: left;" colspan="3">&nbsp;&nbsp;<a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/olympic-games/the-xxxii-olympic-games-athletics-7132391/results/women/5000-metres/final/result" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Full results</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
&nbsp;

On Sunday, Sifan Hassan confirmed that she would be attempting an unprecedented Olympic treble in Tokyo. On Monday she completed the first part of that mission by winning the 5000m title in impressive style.

Hassan wins 5000m to get Olympic treble target under way

If there is one thing that has characterised the fledgling career of 21-year-old Ethiopian distance runner Selemon Barega, it is fearlessness.
Since bursting on to the international scene as a precocious teenager, he has never been afraid to take on the best runners in the world, even when, on occasion, he has been schooled by his elders in major races.
But he has clearly been learning, because he gave a distance-running masterclass to win the <a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/olympic-games/news/tokyo-olympic-games-men-10000m-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">men&rsquo;s 10,000m</a> at the Olympic Stadium on Friday night (30), the first gold medal awarded in athletics at the Tokyo Games.
A fascinating race, with a series of twists and turns, ultimately came down to the usual suspects - the world 10,000m champion Joshua Cheptegei, the world silver medallist Barega and the world half marathon champion Jacob Kiplimo.
Cheptegei, the world record-holder over both 5000m and 10,000m, had made no secret of his desire to succeed Mo Farah as the Olympic champion, but Barega ran the better tactical race, getting the jump on his Ugandan rivals when he launched a withering attack 350m from the finish line.&nbsp;
He committed completely to the move, tearing away as if being pursued by wolves. Cheptegei and Kiplimo were a beat too slow to react in the oppressive conditions (27 degrees and 80 percent humidity) and ultimately that made the difference.
The Ugandan duo closed on their quarry in the last 50 metres but it was too late. Barega crossed the finish line with arms aloft in 27:43.22, recapturing the title for Ethiopia for the first time since 2008 (Kenenisa Bekele). Cheptegei finished just 0.41 behind (27:43.63), with Kiplimo third (27:43.88).
Barega said he had prepared for a sprint finish and was confident in his late turn of speed.
"When I was left with very short lengths like 400 (metres) or 200 (metres), I was really confident about myself to win," he said.&nbsp;
He declared that he would like to step into the shoes of his illustrious forebears Haile Gebrselassie and Bekele, by attempting the 5000m-10,000m double in Tokyo, if allowed by his team.
Cheptegei admitted afterwards that he had been caught in two minds, and was unwilling to push the pace earlier after struggling with a tendon injury in his heel for the last few months. 
<h2>Hassan,&nbsp;Tsegay and&nbsp;Obiri advance</h2>
Meanwhile, all the main contenders progressed safely through the women&rsquo;s 5000m heats, headed by first heat winner Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands (14:47.89). 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/610404ca9c55819dd106668f.jpg" alt="" width="950" height="640" />
 Hassan may yet tackle an unprecedented treble at these Games as she has entered the 1500m, 5000m and 10,000m and is tempted by the opportunity to do something that no other athlete has done in the Olympic arena.
She expended as little energy as possible tonight, only exerting herself in the late stages, and she kept her cards equally close to her chest in the post-race interviews.
"I never say 'I&rsquo;m going to compete (in) three events', I just look at (it) one by one," she said.
"Now I&rsquo;m happy that I made it to the 5000m final and the weather is so hot, and I have a lot of pressure with Covid, about everything."
Kenyan pair Agnes Tirop (14:48.01) and Lilian Rengeruk (14:50.35), plus Ethiopian pair Selamawit Teferi (14:48.31) and Ejgayehu Taye (14:48.52), were the other automatic qualifiers from the first heat.
The second heat was dominated by Ethiopia&rsquo;s Gudaf Tsegay (14:55.74) and Kenyan world champion Hellen Obiri (14:55.77) ahead of Italy&rsquo;s Nadia Battocletti (14:55.83), the USA's Elise Cranny (14:56.14) and Norway&rsquo;s Karoline Grovdal (14:56.82).
Burundi&rsquo;s Francine Niyonsaba was third across the finish line but was disqualified for stepping inside the track on the bend. The Burundi team appealed the decision but the Jury of Appeal reviewed the video evidence and denied it.
Obiri revealed afterwards that the Kenyan trio would run as a team in the final in order to claim back the gold medal for their country. 
<h2>Relay drama</h2>
The mixed 4x400m relay made its Olympic debut with a dramatic qualifying round. The US team was initially disqualified for having one runner start outside the takeover zone, after winning the first heat in 3:11.39, only to be reinstated a few hours later.
Second-placed Dominican Republic (3:12.74) had also been ruled out for lining up in the wrong order at the takeover, but they too were reinstated.
Behind them, also securing places in the final, was Belgium (3:12.75) and Ireland (3:12.88). 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6103f397ef667c76188d1541.jpg" alt="" width="950" height="633" />
 The second heat was faster as Poland set a European record of 3:10.44 to win from the Netherlands (3:10.69), Jamaica (3:11.76) and Great Britain (3:11.95).
Twelve of the 15 teams in action set national records, reflecting the youth of the event, which was introduced at the World Athletics Championships in Doha two years ago.
By contrast, world champion and 2020 female World Athlete of the Year Yulimar Rojas breezed through the qualifying round of the triple jump, progressing with one jump despite taking off nearly 40cm behind the board.
Her leap of 14.77m was still well clear of the automatic qualifying standard of 14.40m and would have been well over 15 metres had she hit the board on take off.
Dominica&rsquo;s Thea LaFond joins her in the final with a national record of 14.60m on her first jump. Other one-jump qualifiers included Portugal&rsquo;s Patricia Mamona (14.54m), Cuba&rsquo;s Liadagmis Povea (14.50m) and Jamaica&rsquo;s Shanieka Ricketts (14.43m). Spain&rsquo;s Ana Peleteiro (14.62m) also progressed comfortably. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6103f02ccc52e2680e5df19e.jpg" alt="" width="950" height="633" />
 But the drama was around 37-year-old two-time world champion Caterine Ibarguen, who struggled to find her rhythm on the runway and was facing elimination before a third round jump of 14.37m, which earned her place in the final as the seventh-best qualifier.
Another veteran, two-time Olympic shot put champion Valerie Adams, had no such difficulty, becoming the first shot putter in history to reach five Olympic finals with an automatic qualifier of 18.83m.
However, reigning world champion Gong Lijiao dominated proceedings with a best throw of 19.46m, ahead of her compatriot Song Jiayuan (19.23m) and American Raven Saunders (19.22m).
Nicole Jeffery for World Athletics

Selemon Barega gave a distance-running masterclass to win the men’s 10,000m.

Barega wins first final as action heats up at Tokyo Olympics

Canada&rsquo;s Moh Ahmed has been a force on the world distance running scene for the past decade, notably finishing fourth in the Rio Olympics 5000m before snatching the bronze medal at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha.
As he prepares for his third Olympic Games from the Bowerman Track Club&rsquo;s altitude training base in Park City, Utah, he knows he cannot be complacent going forward.
At the Florence Wanda Diamond League meeting on 10 June, Ahmed finished third in the 5000m in 12:50.12 &ndash; not far off his Canadian record of 12:47.20. That splendid result has come to be expected of the 30-year-old. The surprise, however, was that his fellow Canadian Justyn Knight, who had finished runner-up to Ahmed at the Canadian Championships in 2017, 2018 and 2019, claimed fifth in that stellar field with a huge personal best of 12:51.93.
This pair are now the two fastest North American 5000m runners of all-time. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/4d55b20c-67e0-4d57-b206-2d7d01501210.jpg" alt="" width="950" height="633" />
 &ldquo;I wouldn&rsquo;t say I was surprised,&rdquo; says Knight, 25. &ldquo;It was my first &lsquo;5km&rsquo; in two years. The last one I ran was at the 2019 World Championships. Now we are in 2021, a lot of time has passed and I have been working really hard to improve myself.
&ldquo;I was able to do lots of base training to make sure I was strong enough and then, leading up to that 5000m, I was fortunate enough to get into a couple of good 1500m races. I think I knew where I was at.&rdquo;
The jovial Toronto area native made the final of the 2017 World Championships 5000m, six months before winning the NCAA indoor 5000m title for Syracuse University. Precocious talent doesn&rsquo;t go far enough in describing his ability. But it was a huge 1500m personal best of 3:33.41 in May of this year which signalled a major breakthrough in his specialty was imminent. There is one reason for it.
While most NCAA athletes find themselves in a position where they must change coaches when turning professional, Knight&rsquo;s graduation from university coincided with his coach Chris Fox&rsquo;s hiring as head of Reebok Boston Track Club in 2018.
&ldquo;I was fortunate to leave college and have the same coach,&rdquo; he admits. &ldquo;We had a tremendous amount of success at Syracuse and we accomplished a lot of great things. He knows me really well, I know him really well and he knows how to get me fired up. I listen to the coach and have complete trust and faith in him.&rdquo;
The club is based in Charlottesville, Virginia. Knight jokes: &ldquo;Charlottesville is too long a word to fit on a singlet!&rdquo; With a smile he apologises for the confusion over names.&nbsp;
The area is known for its hills and autumn training includes many repetitions on some of the hilly dirt roads outside the city. Recently, Knight has been &lsquo;honing the speed&rsquo; needed for the Olympics and he believes he will be equally prepared for a &lsquo;sit and kick&rsquo; race or one that is fast from the gun. Surprisingly, one common and seemingly universal training element is missing from his experiences.
&ldquo;I have never done altitude training,&rdquo; he reveals. &ldquo;I have been begging my coach to try it. He actually promised me that after 2020 maybe we could try it, then the Olympics got delayed. Maybe next year I will be lucky. It&rsquo;s something I have always wanted to try but never had the opportunity to do.&rdquo;
A 15-minute interview turns into a two-hour chat as the humble athlete enjoys discussing the history of athletics. Learning that his manager, Ray Flynn, still holds the Irish mile record (3:49.77) comes as a delightful surprise. It is evident he has time on his hands. Because of travel restrictions which required Canadians to quarantine upon returning home he has not been back to Toronto since Christmas. Friends and family are missed.
&ldquo;My days are pretty relaxed, especially during Covid. I don&rsquo;t really go out so to reduce the possibility of coming in contact with the virus,&rdquo; he admits. &ldquo;I have been very fortunate, I have been staying in touch with my friends on FaceTime. I love watching movies, I play a lot of games as well. Sometimes &ndash; and in case my mum reads this &ndash; I do crack open a book every now and then.&rdquo;
Knight laughs at this statement. But beneath the cheerful exterior there lies a dedicated and ambitious athlete who is always seeking improvement. He was ninth in the 2017 World Championships 5000m final while a student-athlete and 10th in Doha two years later. Those experiences, as well as that Florence 5000m, showed him he can run with the best in the world.
&ldquo;I was just happy to break that 13-minute barrier but there are still some improvements that I can make,&rdquo; he declares. &ldquo;Florence was a huge confidence booster, especially because I was running with the talented group I was running with.
&ldquo;Usually I am accustomed to running with the second group, I guess, being part of the chase pack. And in that Florence Diamond League race I was in the top five or six front group. Hopefully I can be in contention to do something special at the Olympics.&rdquo; 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/61004e5eb643ff4dc4765dd9.jpg" alt="" width="950" height="647" />
 Clearly this young man has ambitions and the talent to perhaps pull off some surprises in the coming years. Ironically, he credits Ahmed&rsquo;s longstanding experiences on the world stage as being an influence. And he lets out a little secret.
&ldquo;Moh has been a huge inspiration to me ever since I started running,&rdquo; he declares with candour. &ldquo;My freshman year in college, back when Facebook was the most popular social media site, I wrote him a message just reaching out to him, just saying: &lsquo;Hey, I look up to you, do you have any tips as a runner?&rsquo; He got back to me fairly quickly.
&ldquo;That meant the world to me and that was kind of the start of our friendship. Just to see Moh throughout the years bring Canadian distance running back with all these Canadian records he has set, and all these championships races he has run in, and how he has always represented us in the best way possible. It&rsquo;s just really nice to have someone to look up to.
&ldquo;Now I am in a position where I am competing alongside him and we have the potential to do something special, at the same time, for Canada &ndash; that would just be a great accomplishment for us both and would mean a lot to our nation as well.&rdquo;
Knight will race only the 5000m while Ahmed is planning the 5000m and 10,000m double in Tokyo. In Doha, the 5000m final was six days before the 10,000m where Ahmed came back to finish sixth in a Canadian record of 26:59.35. In Tokyo, the 10,000m final is on the first night of athletics competition, leaving Ahmed four days to recover before the 5000m heats. 
The Canadian team will first gather in Gifu, Japan, where they will adjust to the time difference and to the heat. Expectations will run high that these two Canadian distance runners will pack a 1-2 punch in the 5000m.
Paul&nbsp;Gains for World Athletics

Moh Ahmed and Justyn Knight will be looking to pack a 1-2 punch at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Ahmed and Knight: Canada’s formidable 5000m duo

<h2>Men's 5000m</h2>
<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/olympic-games/the-xxxii-olympic-games-athletics-7132391/athletes?competitionGroup=olympic-games&amp;disciplineCode=5000&amp;sexCode=M&amp;urlSlug=the-xxxii-olympic-games-athletics-7132391&amp;countryCode=" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Entries</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/olympic-games/the-xxxii-olympic-games-athletics-7132391/timetable/bydiscipline/men/5000-metres" target="_blank" rel="noopener">timetable</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/world-rankings/5000m/men?regionType=world&amp;page=1&amp;rankDate=2021-07-13&amp;limitByCountry=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">world rankings</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/records/toplists/middle-long/5000-metres/outdoor/men/senior/2021?regionType=world&amp;page=1&amp;bestResultsOnly=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2021 world list</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/records/all-time-toplists/middle-long/5000-metres/outdoor/men/senior?regionType=world&amp;page=1&amp;bestResultsOnly=true&amp;firstDay=1900-01-01&amp;lastDay=2021-07-19" target="_blank" rel="noopener">world all-time list</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/disciplines/middlelong/5000-metres" target="_blank" rel="noopener">how it works</a>
Four of the main contenders in the men&rsquo;s 5000m will enter the event off the back of competing in another discipline.
Ugandan duo Joshua Cheptegei and Jacob Kiplimo are entered for the 10,000m, held four days before the first round of the 5000m. Jakob Ingebrigtsen is entered for the 1500m, the heats of which take place on the same day as the 5000m heats, while the semis and final are respectively held one day before and after the 5000m final. Ethiopia&rsquo;s Getnet Wale, meanwhile, will potentially have two rounds of the steeplechase in his legs before turning his attention to the 5000m.
But Spain&rsquo;s Mohamed Katir, one of the breakthrough sensations of the year, will start the 12-and-a-half-lap event with fresh legs, which could give him the slight advantage.
In terms of pure speed, Cheptegei tops the bill as he owns the world record for the distance with his 12:35.36 clocking from 2019. The 10,000m has been his focus at recent major championships and he won the world title for that distance in 2019. He is no stranger to doubling up, too, as he contested the 5000m and 10,000m in Rio and claimed gold in both events at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
In his only 5000m race of the year, Cheptegei was a well-beaten sixth at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Florence in 12:54.69, the second-fastest of his career. But in 2019 he rebounded from similar early-season results to win the Diamond League title against a high-quality field.
Compatriot Jacob Kiplimo, still only 20 years of age, hasn&rsquo;t been beaten on the track since the 2018 World U20 Championships. Last year he set a Ugandan 3000m record of 7:26.64, clocked a 5000m PB of 12:48.63 to win in Ostrava, won the world half marathon title in Gdynia and then set a national half marathon record of 57:37 in Valencia.
The versatile Kiplimo has raced sparingly this year but won both of his races, clocking a world-leading PB of 26:33.93 over 10,000m and winning over 5000m in Lucerne in 12:55.60. He has never doubled up at a major championships, but he has the ability and endurance to be a big contender in both the 5000m and 10,000m.
Ingebrigtsen is no stranger to a distance double &ndash; or, as was the case at the 2017 European U20 Championships, a triple. The 20-year-old Norwegian won the European 1500m and 5000m titles in 2018 at the age of 17, and earlier this year he claimed 1500m and 3000m gold at the European Indoor Championships.
He finished fourth and fifth over 1500m and 5000m at the 2019 World Championships, but has improved in both events since then. In fact, he&rsquo;ll head to Tokyo as the European record-holder over 1500m (indoors and out), 2000m and 5000m. His latest continental record-breaking performance came when winning the 5000m at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Florence in a world-leading PB of 12:48.45.
But the field of athletes he beat in that race was more significant than the time itself. Cheptegei, Katir, two-time world champion Muktar Edris and Canadian duo Moh Ahmed and Justyn Knight all finished in Ingebrigtsen&rsquo;s wake, giving the Norwegian a significant psychological advantage heading into the Games.
Katir finished fourth in Florence in a Spanish record of 12:50.79. He then went on to set national records over 1500m (3:28.76) in Monaco and 3000m (7:27.64) in Gateshead. Still relatively new on the international circuit, Katir will be making his global championships debut in Tokyo. But his finishing speed in all of his Wanda Diamond League performances this year suggests he can be a major factor in championship-style racing. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/60edfe4816290989cabdbd19.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
 Before this year, Getnet Wale was better known as a steeplechaser. But after some strong performances indoors &ndash; including a 7:24.98 run over 3000m to move to second on the world indoor all-time list &ndash; the Ethiopian started to focus more on flat events. He won the Ethiopian Olympic Trial race over 5000m, clocking a PB of 12:53.28 to book his place in Tokyo in that discipline. He has also been named in the steeplechase, though, and will be just as big a factor in that event. But this will be the first time he&rsquo;s had to double up at a major event.
Nibret Melak, a two-time Ethiopian cross-country champion, and world U20 cross-country champion Milkesa Mengesha join Wale on Ethiopia&rsquo;s 5000m team.
Canada&rsquo;s world bronze medallist Moh Ahmed finished third in Florence this year in 12:50.12, just ahead of compatriot Justyn Knight (12:51.93). They head to Tokyo as the second- and fourth-fastest entrants in the 5000m and will likely be in the medal hunt.
Trials winner Nicholas Kimeli leads the Kenyan team. Daniel Simiyu, who finished a close second to Kiplimo in Lucerne, is also Tokyo-bound.
USA&rsquo;s 2016 Olympic silver medallist Paul Chelimo and Bahrain&rsquo;s Asian champion Birhanu Balew, a finalist at the past three global championships, are also ones to watch.
Jon Mulkeen for World Athletics
&nbsp;
<h2>Women's 5000m</h2>
<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/olympic-games/the-xxxii-olympic-games-athletics-7132391/athletes?competitionGroup=olympic-games&amp;disciplineCode=5000&amp;sexCode=W&amp;urlSlug=the-xxxii-olympic-games-athletics-7132391&amp;countryCode=" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Entries</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/olympic-games/the-xxxii-olympic-games-athletics-7132391/timetable/bydiscipline/women/5000-metres" target="_blank" rel="noopener">timetable</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/world-rankings/5000m/women?regionType=world&amp;page=1&amp;rankDate=2021-07-13&amp;limitByCountry=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">world rankings</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/records/toplists/middle-long/5000-metres/outdoor/women/senior/2021?regionType=world&amp;page=1&amp;bestResultsOnly=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2021 world list</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/records/all-time-toplists/middle-long/5000-metres/outdoor/women/senior?regionType=world&amp;page=1&amp;bestResultsOnly=true&amp;firstDay=1900-01-01&amp;lastDay=2021-07-19" target="_blank" rel="noopener">world all-time list</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/disciplines/middlelong/5000-metres" target="_blank" rel="noopener">how it works</a>
In Gudaf Tsegay, Ejgayehu Taye, Senbere Teferi, Hellen Obiri and Agnes Tirop, the Tokyo entry list features five of the world&rsquo;s 10 fastest ever 5000m women. Add Sifan Hassan &ndash; 12th on that all-time list &ndash; to the mix, and you have the recipe for a mouth-watering Olympic battle.
Tsegay goes into the race as world leader thanks to her 14:13.32 PB to win the Ethiopian Trials in Hengelo on 8 June, with Taye and Teferi just behind her on that all-time list courtesy of their respective 14:14.09 and 14:15.24 PBs in the same race.
Also on that night, Letesenbet Gidey broke the world 10,000m record but despite having the world 5000m record of 14:06.62 from Valencia last October to her name too, the world 10,000m silver medallist has decided to focus on the longer event in Tokyo.
Since contesting the 800m at the Rio Olympics five years ago, exiting in the heats, Tsegay has gone on to take world 1500m bronze. She also broke the world indoor record for that distance in February, blazing over the finish line in 3:53.09 to take two seconds off the mark which had been set by her compatriot Genzebe Dibaba in 2014. She has less experience in the 5000m but also won the Ethiopian Championships in the event in April, clocking 14:49.7 at the altitude of Addis Ababa. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/20d035dd-451a-4d5b-9bcd-ce8800d8a427.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
 When it comes to major championships, Obiri &ndash; the only woman to have ever won a set of world titles indoors, outdoors and at cross country &ndash; has been the dominant force in recent years, winning world 5000m titles in both 2017 and 2019 after her runner-up finish to her compatriot Vivian Cheruiyot in Rio five years ago. She may have finished second at the Kenyan Trials behind Lilian Kasait Rengeruk but Obiri &ndash; who is also entered for the 10,000m &ndash; went on to win at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Oslo. The 31-year-old knows how to peak and will be on the hunt for a first Olympic title.
So too will Hassan. After winning world 1500m and 10,000m titles in Doha in 2019, her focus had seemed to switch to a 5000m and 10,000m double for Tokyo, but the world mile record-holder&rsquo;s 3:53.63 1500m win in Florence last month convinced her to keep her options open and she is entered for all three events. The 5000m would be the first in a potential treble, with the heats on 30 July and final on the evening of 2 August, following the 1500m heats earlier that day.
&ldquo;I say life is not about medals, it is not about gold, it is also about history,&rdquo; the Dutch runner has said. &ldquo;I made the decision to run the 1500m (in Doha) even though I didn&rsquo;t know if it was possible because nobody before had done it (the 1500m-10,000m double).&rdquo;
She could complete the first part of another historic performance with 5000m success in Tokyo. Her European record of 14:22.12 was set in 2019 and she has run 14:35.34 this year but her focus has been on getting a range of experiences over the different distances. She took more than 10 seconds off the world 10,000m record with her 29:06.82 run in Hengelo in June, a mark which was improved by Gidey just two days later.
Joining Obiri and Rengeruk on the Kenyan team in Tokyo will be Tirop, who makes her senior major championships 5000m debut after having claimed bronze medals in the 10,000m at the past two World Championships. Third at the Kenyan trials, she ran her PB of 14:20.68 in 2019.
Nozomi Tanaka, who has broken Japanese records in the 1500m and 3000m this year, is on the host nation team alongside national champion Ririka Hironaka, while Eilish McColgan returns to 12.5-lap action after breaking Paula Radcliffe&rsquo;s British 5000m record with 14:28.55 in Oslo. Two-time NCAA champion Karissa Schweizer is the quickest of the USA&rsquo;s trio (14:26.34 PB from 2020), while Norway's Karoline Bjerkeli Grovdal ran 14:47.67 in Oslo and also clocked a non-record eligible 14:39 for 5km on the road in May.
Jess Whittington for World Athletics

Expected highlights in the 5000m

Tokyo Olympics preview: 5000m

Fresh from her heroics at the FBK Games in Hengelo, world record-breaker Sifan Hassan will again take centre stage at the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea, a Wanda Diamond League meeting, in Florence on Thursday (10).
Dutch world champion Hassan, who improved the global 10,000m record to 29:06.82c on Sunday (pending ratification), will give herself a speed test in the Italian city, stepping down to her other world title distance, the 1500m, where another exceptional challenge awaits.
The other contenders include the Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon, also in brilliant form after a commanding win in the 800m at the previous Wanda Diamond League meeting in Doha, and the European champion Laura Muir, undefeated outdoors this year at this distance.
But having won the world titles over 10,000m and 1500m a week apart in Doha in 2019, Hassan will fancy her chances at taking this double too.
On the 40th anniversary of Sebastian Coe&rsquo;s monumental world 800m record, also set in Florence, it is fitting that the middle distance events will command the spotlight.
The men&rsquo;s 5000m and 3000m steeplechase also promise to be outstanding races based on the quality of the fields assembled.
Uganda&rsquo;s world 5000m record-breaker Joshua Cheptegei heads a stacked 5000m field that includes seven sub-13-minute men, among them the Ethiopian duo of world champion Muktar Edris and Hagos Gebrhiwet, as well as the Norwegian boy wonder Jakob Ingebrigtsen, European champion but yet to prove he can mix it with the world&rsquo;s very best over this distance. This is his opportunity. 
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Joshua Cheptegei on his way to a world 5000m record in Monaco</div>
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Spain&rsquo;s Mohamed Katir, who was an impressive winner of this event at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Gateshead last month, will also contend.
Cheptegei returns to this distance for the first time since he set the world record in Monaco last year. He has made no secret of his desire to turn his dominance of the clock over 5000m and 10,000m in the past two years, into two Olympic gold medals in Tokyo in August.
The steeplechase line-up is equally formidable, featuring three of the first four from the 2019 World Championships podium from Doha, Kenyan winner Conseslus Kipruto, Morocco&rsquo;s bronze medallist Soufiane El Bakkali and fourth-placed Getnet Wale.
Another athlete who will bring outstanding form to Florence is the world 200m champion Dina Asher-Smith, who will have her first outing over her preferred distance this year, coming off a dominant display over 100m at the Continental Tour Gold meeting in Hengelo.
Waiting for her will be the dual world champion Dafne Schippers, world bronze medallist Mujinga Kambundji and the highly-regarded Marie-Josee Ta Lou.
In the men&rsquo;s 100m, Akani Simbine, who inspired South Africa to victory in the 4x100m at the World Athletics Relays in Silesia last month, returns to Europe to take on a field that includes four other sub-10-second performers.
A warm evening in early summer in Italy promises to provide perfect conditions for the sprints, and will give world leader in the 100m hurdles Jasmine Camacho-Quinn every chance of improving her personal best of 12.32 and extending her unbeaten run this year. 
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Jasmine Camacho-Quinn at the 2021 USATF Grand Prix in Eugene</div>
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Olympic 110m hurdles champion Omar McLeod is also rounding into form after a 13.08 clocking in Hengelo and will take on world bronze medallist Pascal Martinot-Lagarde.
Following her 54.33 400m hurdles season-opener in Hengelo last weekend, Femke Bol will look to go even quicker in Florence when she takes on Olympic silver medallist Sara Slott Petersen, the winner in Gateshead, and Ukraine&rsquo;s Anna Ryzhykova.
In the men&rsquo;s 400m, world silver medallist Anthony Zambrano takes on Botswana&rsquo;s Isaac Makwala, European champion Matt Hudson-Smith and Italian record-holder Davide Re.
Florence is not only likely to be faster, but higher too, with world-class fields assembled in both the women&rsquo;s pole vault and men&rsquo;s high jump.
The pole vault will feature Olympic champion Katerina Stefanidi on the comeback trail from injury where she will face world champion Anzhelika Sidorova and in the in-form Holly Bradshaw.
In the high jump, world champion Mutaz Essar Barshim of Qatar will compete in Europe for the first time in two years, taking on the early season pacesetter Ilya Ivanyuk (2.37m) and the home favourite Gianmarco Tamberi. 
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Mutaz Barshim at the Ready Steady Tokyo meeting</div>
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The only horizontal jump programmed, the women&rsquo;s long jump, will be similarly intriguing as world champion Malaika Mihambo takes on a high-quality field including fellow seven-metre jumpers Chantel Malone and Nastassia Mironchyk-Ivanova, two-time world triple jump champion Caterine Ibarguen, world indoor champion Ivana Spanovic and world silver medallist Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk.
For stronger (to complete the Olympic motto), look to the men&rsquo;s shot put and the women&rsquo;s discus.
New Zealand&rsquo;s 2017 world shot put champion Tom Walsh will face the leading thrower in Europe this season, Poland&rsquo;s Michal Haratyk, who has a best mark of 22.17m this year.
Cuba&rsquo;s world discus champion Yaime Perez will look to extend her unbeaten run this year, taking on the dual Olympic discus champion Sandra Perkovic again after a narrow victory in Hengelo.
Nicole Jeffery for World Athletics

Fresh from her heroics at the FBK Games in Hengelo, world record-breaker Sifan Hassan will again take centre stage at the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea, a Wanda Diamond League meeting, in Florence on Thursday (10).

World record-breakers Hassan and Cheptegei lead distance showcase in Florence

Over the past few years, people have taken note of the rise of Ethiopian steeplechasers.
Although a few Ethiopian women have enjoyed moderate success in recent Olympic cycles, until recently the men&rsquo;s steeplechase has been mostly a Kenyan domain. Part of the reason for Ethiopia&rsquo;s delayed success in the men&rsquo;s event &ndash; as compared to the other middle and longer distance events at which they have been so competitive &ndash; has to do with access.
&ldquo;The problem in Ethiopia has been the obstacles,&rdquo; said Teshome Kebede, who has been on a mission to popularise the event in the country and help rear a new generation of Ethiopian steeplechase talent.
Obstacles here are both literal and figurative &ndash; both the economic and physical barriers. &ldquo;The only availability [of hurdles] is in cities &ndash; in Addis Ababa and in some academies.&rdquo;
Kebede has made it his personal mission to develop Ethiopian athletes in the steeplechase, and studied the discipline before going around to regions in the country to recruit potential talent. His early prot&eacute;g&eacute;s include 2019 Diamond League champion Getnet Wale and world silver medallist Lamecha Girma.
Finding new events and opportunities in a place like Ethiopia is crucial, too, because the level of competition in long-distance running events is so high. Making Olympic and World Championship teams in the 10,000m and 5000m can even be harder than bringing home hardware from the championship events. But, as will be evident at the FBK Games in Hengelo on 6 June &ndash; which will be followed two days later by the Ethiopian Olympic track trials &ndash; range and quick adaptation are prerequisites for all Ethiopian hopefuls, regardless of what is already on their resumes.
<h2>Gebere Lij &ndash; a farmer&rsquo;s child</h2>
Wale, in many ways, has been the face of athletic versatility and variability.
He says his athletic and mental assets are derived from the grit and strength of being a gebere lij &ndash; a farmer&rsquo;s child &ndash; growing up in rural Ethiopia. Wale was born in Sek&rsquo;ela, Ethiopia, in the province of Gojjam, which is in the north-western part of the Amhara region, and he grew up helping his parents and six siblings tend to their crops. 
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&ldquo;My parents encouraged me, telling me to be courageous and strong. My father first didn&rsquo;t know anything about sport but when I started he would listen to the radio and hear about Ethiopian athletes. When I started to show some success, he told me I could do less work on the farm, so I could better focus on school and sport. And as much as he could, he would try to buy me some sports clothes to support me.&rdquo;
Wale did not know much about the steeplechase, but Hiwot Ayalew, who just missed the podium in the steeplechase at the London 2012 Olympics, also grew up in Gojjam. As a result, Wale had some rudimentary interests when Kebede paid him a visit.
Seeing potential, Kebede invited Wale to train at the Ethiopian Youth Sport Academy in Addis Ababa &ndash; partially funded by the Ethiopian government to allow athletes in 11 sports to grow and develop &ndash; and hone his skills.
&ldquo;To be honest, I didn&rsquo;t know anything about the steeplechase when I started,&rdquo; Wale said. &ldquo;There is none in the countryside. [Before my first competition] I watched some videos about how to jump over the obstacles and then I went to Addis Ababa to run my first race. But because I&rsquo;m a farmer&rsquo;s child, I was eager to run well and was selected for the national team.&rdquo; 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/60ba3069a906b67fed469fac.JPG" alt="" width="950" height="619" /> Ethiopian steeplechaser Getnet Wale (&copy; Guillaume Laurent)
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In his first competition abroad, Wale ran at the World U20 Championships in Bydgoszcz and finished third. Shortly after, the government invested in more barriers and a water pit, making it one of the few places in Ethiopia where steeplechasers can adequately practice.
The next year, while still an U18 athlete, Wale competed at the World Championships in London, where he finished ninth overall. In 2018, he won his second bronze medal at the World U20 Championships in Tampere, Finland. And in 2019, after winning the Diamond League title, he just missed out on the podium at the World Championships in Doha.
But his new training partner, and Kebede&rsquo;s new apprentice, Lamecha Girma, seemed to come out of thin air, and shook the running world.
<h2>Coaching two kings</h2>
Girma, who is from the Asella region of Ethiopia, was focusing on the 1500m at the Tirunesh Dibaba Athletics Club before Kebede brought him, too, north to the Youth Academy to train.
Training alongside Wale, Girma blossomed quickly, with 2019 being a banner year. That year, he won the trial race in Hengelo in 8:08.18 to secure his spot on the World Championships team. And in the final in Doha, he just missed out on a gold medal to Kenyan star Conseslus Kipruto.
Managing two top athletes and training partners can be tough, Kebede admits. &ldquo;What I tell them is to be good athletes they need to support each other, to love each other, to work together, and to care for each other.
&ldquo;Every training session is like a competition between the two of them,&rdquo; he added. &ldquo;Sometimes, it is difficult to have two kings on a single team. So they love each other but they compete with each other.&rdquo; 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/60ba3136a906b67fed469faf.JPG" alt="" width="950" height="660" /> Lamecha Girma and his training partners talk to some local children during a training session (&copy; Guillaume Laurent)
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Despite this, the two have become close friends. Not only do they eat and train together, but when they have down days the two sometimes venture out in Addis Ababa, and in pre-pandemic times were known to enjoy rest days at the cinema.
Wale has been keen on offering his insights to Girma who rose so quickly to global success.
&ldquo;Sport needs patience,&rdquo; says Wale of some of the most important insights he has learned. &ldquo;When you are not winning, you need to accept not winning. You will face different problems in sport, but you need to persevere.&rdquo;
Wale, who is keen to soon move up in distance to the 5000m, expects more and more Ethiopian steeplechasers to rise to prominence soon too. Like the other events, and in addition to Girma, &ldquo;there are a lot of reserve runners who are very good. In the future I will expect even better results.&rdquo;
<h2>Running is Teferi&rsquo;s injera</h2>
The reserve runners to whom Wale refers are present in nearly every middle distance and distance event for both Ethiopian men and women. It makes event specialisation and choice a complicated undertaking for athletes, coaches, and selection committees. Many Ethiopian runners have incredible range, but representing the country can be a tricky calculus of measuring not only the international, but the domestic competition.
Senbere Teferi, for example, has excelled in every distance from the 1500m up to the marathon, and slides up and down the distance scale, and between the track, roads, and grass, to compete in nearly every discipline.
At the Oromia Club in Ambo, Ethiopia, where she began running, Teferi focused initially on the 1500m and the 5000m. In 2011, she left Ethiopia for the first time to race the World U18 Championships in France, where she took home the silver medal. But the first time she wore the Ethiopian singlet at the senior stage was at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, where she again finished second. The following year, she represented Ethiopia at the Rio Olympic Games, where she finished fifth in a time of 14:43.75. 
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&ldquo;The 5000m is internal to me,&rdquo; Teferi explains with glee. &ldquo;Why? The first time I represented Ethiopia I was able to win silver. So the 5000m is still inside of me. So I really want to run the 5000m well. That&rsquo;s my interest.&rdquo;
Since then, Teferi has proved she has ability and potential in longer distances as well. In addition to running the 10,000m on the track, where she is one of the top ranked athletes in the world, she has held the half-marathon national record, running 1:05:45 and earning the title of the fastest debut in history. She clearly has potential on the roads, too, shown by her 2:24:11 debut in 2018.
&ldquo;Running comes with two things,&rdquo; Teferi said. &ldquo;Naturally, you have &lsquo;it&rsquo;. The rest comes from training. My ability is natural and comes from inside me. So I can run in the middle distances up to the marathon. This is just natural for me so I am able to run.&rdquo; 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/60ba31bfa906b67fed469fb2.JPG" alt="" width="950" height="837" /> Ethiopian distance runner Senbere Teferi (&copy; Guillaume Laurent)
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While Teferi no doubt has natural talent, she also is known to be an incredibly meticulous athlete, notorious for stretching for 40 minutes after training, never missing a gym session, and maintaining a varied and calculated diet.
In addition to regularly eating the Ethiopian staple injera, it&rsquo;s how she relates to the sport itself. &ldquo;Running is everything to me,&rdquo; Teferi emphasises, further explaining her tremendous range. &ldquo;Running is my injera. It&rsquo;s my life.&rdquo;
<h2>Trials</h2>
When it comes to a packed trials, few events compare to the distance races that will take place in Hengelo. Although the Ethiopian Athletics Federation can make adjustments following the competition, Ethiopian athletes need to be in world-class shape to show their readiness for the Olympics.
Teferi, Girma, and Wale will be trying to prove themselves worthy of representing Ethiopia at the Tokyo Games, alongside dozens of others. And choosing the correct distance at the right time is a part of that uniquely difficult preparation.
Hannah Borenstein for World Athletics

Over the past few years, people have taken note of the rise of Ethiopian steeplechasers.

The trials and tribulations of being a top Ethiopian distance runner

A few hours south of Addis Ababa, beyond the Oromia region, is the northern most zone of the Southern Region &ndash; Gurage. Here, alongside rolling dark red dirt roads and an abundance of the green endemic enset plant &ndash; known as the &ldquo;false banana&rdquo; &ndash; this population of nearly two million has earned a reputation for being some of the hardest working in Ethiopia. Many Ethiopians respect Gurage people for being business savvy, who skillfully manage the demands of agricultural upkeep and urban commerce between Addis Ababa and the countryside. Selemon Barega, one of the most talented distance runners Ethiopia has ever seen, is a proud Gurage.
&ldquo;In general, my national group is known by trade, they focus on commerce,&rdquo; Barega said. &ldquo;The Gurage nation does not know anything about sport, but the Gurage people, if they start to work at anything, in any field, they become successful. They focus on work.&rdquo;
Barega, who grew up in a rural area with three sisters and four brothers, knew little about sport at an early age. His parents are farmers, and encouraged him to get an education, and because his family lacked a television or radio, he did not know of any Ethiopian legends he could aspire to be like. But rapid success in a local school competition led to another victory in a zonal race, and him ultimately joining a project nearby.
Projects are common pathways to clubs in Ethiopia, the latter of which provide a small salary and often cover basic living accommodations. Projects, by comparison, offer no financial incentive, but give up-and-comers a reliable group with which to train and grow. Barega joined the Southern Police Club at around the same time as he was offered to join the national team.
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/609a61be1b3b5e6154fcadc7.jpg" alt="" width="950" height="637" /> Selemon Barega in training&nbsp;(&copy; Guillaume Laurent /&nbsp;<a href="https://www.athle.ch/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ATHLE.ch</a>) 
 &ldquo;In our area, there was no one running,&rdquo; he explained. &ldquo;My family members were not fans of running; their aim was only to push me to learn, so even when I joined the club they were not happy. It was not until I began receiving medals that they started to encourage me.&rdquo;
In 2015, before going off to win at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Poland, Barega moved to Addis Ababa, where he learned the history of Ethiopian athletics. &ldquo;When I came to Addis then I heard stories about Kenenisa (Bekele) and saw his videos. I admired him for his speed,&rdquo; he remembers.
Barega&rsquo;s time of 13:21 at the age of 16 shocked the running world and began to inspire a local movement in his hometown. Now young boys all cite him as an inspiration to begin running.
Throughout the next several years Barega&rsquo;s times continued to drop, but he developed racing tactics that have led to countless victories and more importantly, racing conditions in which he always finds himself vying for a top spot. Barega has several registers of speed and seems to effortlessly shift gears in the final laps of a race without his form breaking down. He&rsquo;s a smooth runner, and attributes this to his focus.
&ldquo;Everybody is working hard here,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The runners who are good in training sometimes do not perform well in competitions. The big thing is you have to give focus for your work.
&ldquo;For example, with me, I don&rsquo;t think about any other work. I give everything to sport. All of my thoughts are for sport. Also, when it comes to races, sometimes others get scared. But I don&rsquo;t get scared. If I run good, I thank god then I accept and do work, and if I don&rsquo;t win, I see myself weaknesses and I don&rsquo;t get angry. I say, because I work hard, I win, but still, it&rsquo;s not enough. I think that I can do more than this.&rdquo;
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(&copy; Guillaume Laurent /&nbsp;<a href="https://www.athle.ch/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ATHLE.ch</a>)
 Despite being a fierce competitor, Barega is known as a humble, soft-mannered and gentle companion to most of his compatriots and family members. After getting some success and moving to Addis Ababa, he bought a car and a house, and asked two of his brothers, one cousin and a sister to move in with him.
His younger brother is now starting to train seriously and the others take care of the house. His sister makes a special type of kocho &ndash; a thick and dark flat bread made with the aforementioned enset plant &ndash; to eat with his favorite kitfo &ndash; minced raw beef &ndash; which fuels his training. Even though he financially supports his family, he sees them as caretakers to provide him necessary sustenance and morale.
In the future, Barega has big plans for how he would like to give back to the Gurage people, who he sees as having a lot of potential but lacking infrastructure and materials. &ldquo;There is one club there, but they don&rsquo;t even have a track,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Up until now I have not really supported them financially, only giving them morale. But if I can do something more for that area in the future like giving them clothes and facility, I will be happy.&rdquo;
But for now, Barega remains singularly focused on his training, with lofty goals about winning more medals for Ethiopia. He is currently coached by Hussein Shibo, who has helped bring athletes like Derartu Tulu, Haile Gebrselassie, Fatuma Roba, Kenenisa Bekele, and others, to global prominence. Within Ethiopia, Shibo is known as a &ldquo;hunter,&rdquo; because he&rsquo;s a fierce recruiter of both talent and medals. He&rsquo;s known for adapting to athletes&rsquo; training strengths and styles, rather than the other way around.
He remains focused on the 5000m and 10,000m races, with an eye looking to the roads for the future. But the 5000m and 10,000m, he has explained, are central to the culture of running in Ethiopia. And winning races are his central concerns. But for Barega, what remains crystal clear is no matter which event he runs, he will work extremely, exceptionally, hard.
Hannah Borenstein for World Athletics

Many Ethiopians respect Gurage people for being business savvy, who skillfully manage the demands of agricultural upkeep and urban commerce between Addis Ababa and the countryside. Selemon Barega, one of the most talented distance runners Ethiopia has ever seen, is a proud Gurage.