Tirunesh Dibaba triumphs in Addis Ababa (© Jiro Mochizuki (Agence shot))
Never mind which continent, there is no stopping the Dibaba sister act. Last seen only five weeks ago making headlines at the World Cross Country Championships in Edinburgh, Scotland, another version of it stole the show here tonight on the fourth day of the 16th African Athletics Championships.
Ethiopia simply substituted one sister for another to join multiple World champion Tirunesh Dibaba in celebration. In a 10,000m which saw Ethiopia’s women match the achievement of the men in sweeping the medals, Tirunesh secured her first African Championships title while her elder sister, Ejegayehu, 25, finished runner-up.
In Edinburgh, Tirunesh’s younger sister, 17-year-old Genzebe Dibaba, won the World Cross Country junior women’s s title shortly before the 22-year-old middle sister captured a third senior women’s long course title. So keen had Tirunesh been to watch Genzebe run that she admitted later to not warming-up properly.
There was no danger of that happening on this occasion as she and Ejegayehu were in the same race. And, as it developed, there was no repeat of the mid-race difficulties that Tirunesh had encountered on her way to winning the 10,000m at the World Championships in Osaka last year and in Edinburgh.
In Osaka she won after stomach pains forced her to drop back and she triumphed in Edinburgh after falling behind with stitch. Tonight she was never more than three strides off the pace and even volunteered for occasional duty at the front. It was a faultless, measured performance from the heroine of the half hour.
Urged on by a fanatical 25,000 crowd in the National Stadium – every day has reached capacity – an Ethiopian vest was soon in front after Tanzania’s Janeth John had the audacity to take the lead on the opening bend. Ayalew Wude quickly took over in front before Ejegayehu showed for the first time.
After the first kilometre, though, Rwanda’s Angeline Nyiransabimana moved ahead, holding the lead through four kilometres. A lead group of five patrolled in single file, Nyiransabimana followed by Ejegayehu, Kenya’s Lucy Kabuu, Tirunesh and Wude. The monotony was broken when Tirunesh surged to the front 14 laps from home.
No sooner had Tirunesh made her move than Nyiransabimana dropped back, leaving Kabuu, the Commonwealth Games 10,000m champion, alone to challenge the Ethiopians. Every time the home runners tried to hold the three leading positions, Kabuu would show her fight by getting between them.
To the deafening sound of supporters singing and chanting, while their dancing looked from the distance like boats bobbing up and down on a restless sea, there was an inevitability about an Ethiopian triumph. And, with 1400m to go, Ejegayehu burst ahead, drawing close response from the Dibaba sisters while Kabuu was finally broken.
Down the back straight for the final time, it was Wude’s turn to lose touch with the Dibabas and Tirunesh went on to the gold, sprinting past Ejegayehu with 190m to go. It was just as well that high wire fencing was in place around the perimeter otherwise the medallists would have stood no chance against being mobbed.
Tirunesh stopped the clock at 32:49.08 at this high altitude venue, Ejegayehu following in 32:50.36 and Wude in 32:55.17. So thoroughly broken was Kabuu that she was 250 metres back by the time that Wude had completed the sweep. After an inauspicious start for the athletes billed as the “Golden Trio” of Ethiopia before the championships began, at last one has delivered.
K. Bekele expected in men’s 5000m – final day preview
Kenenisa Bekele chose not to run in the 10,000m on Wednesday, although he is now expected in the 5000m on the last day tomorrow, and 2007 IAAF woman athlete of the year, Meseret Defar, had to settle for silver behind compatriot Meselech Melkamu in the 5000m on Thursday.
A rousing climax seems assured tomorrow when Deresse Mekonen, the World Indoor men’s 1500m champion, starts favourite to win the metric mile while the prospect exists of a brothers act to follow the sisters one. Kenenisa and Tariku Bekele first and second in the 5000m? It could happen.
No less fascinating, though, is the prospect of Maria Mutola going for an international 800m title 20 years after she first contested the distance at the Olympics. But, in Pamela Chelimo, she may find a young, aspiring Kenyan too fresh and enthusiastic for her.
David Powell for the IAAF
