Preview of the
Women's 5000m
K.Ken Nakamura
22 September 2000 - If Sonia O'Sullivan and Gabriela Szabo can dig deep to bring out their full potential, the 5000m Olympic final should be an epic showdown between them. If this is not the case, there are several other contenders for the coveted gold medal..
Four years ago in Atlanta, Sonia O'Sullivan and Gabriela Szabo were co-favourites in the inaugural Olympic 5000m. While O'Sullivan advanced to the final Szabo finished seventh in her heat and failed to qualify for the final. Later in the week, Szabo placed second over 1500m while O'Sullivan did not finish the final due to illness.
In 1992, Sonia O'Sullivan failed in her quest for an Olympic medal, finishing finished fourth at the 3000m. The following year, she was fourth in the 3000m, but took the 1500m silver medal at the World Championships in Stuttgart. The final major outdoor championships’ 3000m was contested in Helsinki at the European Championships, which O'Sullivan won easily, while Szabo was third. It was the first European gold won by an Irish woman.
In 1995 the 5000m at the outdoor championships replaced the 3000m. Sonia O'Sullivan won the event at the Göteborg World Championships by outkicking Fernanda Ribeiro, while Szabo finished without a medal in fourth place. In this race, O'Sullivan ran the last 200m in 28.8 and the last 1000m in 2:45.4.
The next few years were mediocre for O’Sullivan until the World Cross Country Championships in 1998, when she won both 4km and 8km races in Marrakech. Later in the summer, she completed a stunning 5000m-10,000m double at the European Championships in Budapest (her debut at 10,000m). In the 5000m she outkicked Gabriele Szabo who led most of the race. She took time off in 1999 to have a baby and since her return this year her performances have been varied.
On the other hand, the 1994 World Junior 3000m champion Gabriela Szabo won the kicker's race at the 5000m in both the 1997 and 1999 World Championships. In the World Championships, her last 200m was 29.35, and 29.7 in 1997 and 1999 respectively, fast but not as fast as O'Sullivan's last 200m in 1995 World Championships (28.8). Szabo utterly and completely dominated her distance in 1999 and was voted the athlete of the year by the Track & Field News, Athletics International and the IAAF.
However, Szabo is not yet performed at her best this year, having lost the only 5000m race of her season in the Golden League meeting in Berlin. Fortunately for Szabo her victor, Leah Malot, will not be in Sydney as she did not qualify for the Kenyan Olympic team.
Other medal contenders medal include Ethiopian Ayelech Worku, who won the London Grand Prix (14:41.23), and two Russians Olga Yegorova and Tatyana Tomashova. While Worku was a bronze medallist at the 1999 World Championships, Russian Yegorova was eliminated in the heats. Tomashova is a good finisher, having won the European Cup by running the final 200m in 28.56. She should be able to match either O'Sullivan or Szabo in the last lap sprint.
However, the best kicker of them all may be Gete Wami of Ethiopia, who will double at 5000m as well as 10,000m. Traditionally, Ethiopians are good finishers, and Wami (Olympic bronze medallist in 1996), won the 10,000m in the fifth fastest time of all-time at the 1999 World Championships, running the last 200m in 31.7. This year, she improved her 5000m personal best to 14:30.88, the third fastest performance of all-time.
The pace in the Olympic final is likely to increase dramatically in the final kilometres. At the last three editions of the World Championships, the remaining 1000m of the 5000m finals were run in 2:45.4, 2:46.85, and 2:49.41. In the 1998 European Championships, the final 1000m was covered in 2:47. The Sydney 2000 winner must be prepared to run the final 1000m in 2:45 and final 200m under 30 seconds.