Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay and Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon squared off in the women’s 5,000m final. Kipyego finally got to keep his silver medal.
Paris Olympics on channels 26.7.–11.8. Go to the competition website here. You can find the entire program of the games here.
The final trio of medals in the women’s 5,000 meters did not emerge until late at night. of Kenya Beatrice Chebet crossed the finish line first before landing Faith Kipyegonia and the Netherlands Sifan Hassania.
However, it was soon announced that Kipyegon had been disqualified for obstructing another runner. Two laps before the finish Ethiopian ME women Gudaf Tsegay wedged into the top spot ahead of Kipyegon. Based on the video, the Kenyan runner seemed to respond to being overtaken with a small push.
– Rejection? Did I get silver? How is that possible?, Hassan, who won gold in the 5,000 meters at the Tokyo Olympics wondered the situation..
A tearful Kipyegon left the Stade de France stadium without giving interviews to the media. However, Kenya made a counter-protest which went through and in the end Kipyegon got to keep his silver. Tsegay was ninth in the final results.
Hassan, who fell from silver back to bronze, was not upset about his own medal fading.
– I am really pleased that he got his medal back. Chebet and Kipyegon are phenomenal. Faith deserves the silver, it doesn’t matter to me, Hassan said.
Hassan himself has bumped into Tsegay on the running tracks. In the 2023 decathlon World Cup final, the two hit each other, Hassan fell and lost his chance for a medal. Tsegay won the World Championship gold.
In Paris, the Dutch star gave a quick feedback about Tsegay’s activities. According to Hassan, Tsegay “always” blocks his opponents.
– Why does he do that? I hate it. That’s why I try to run behind myself. Being a long-legged person, I fall over if someone pushes me. Tsegay has knocked me down once. He’s always misbehaving, Hassan criticized in an interview with the Dutch Telegraaf.
Later runner spoke more calmly in the NRK interview.
– I’m sorry that I said that. After the run, the adrenaline is so high, so I was too excited, said the Dutchman.
One of the sensational athletes of the Finnish athletics summer Nathalie Blomqvist was 13th in the final race of 5,000 meters, leaving three athletes behind.