BERLIN – Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia continued his dominance in the men’s 10,000, winning his fourth consecutive title at the world championships Monday.
Bekele, who is a two-time Olympic champion in the event, sped away from Zersenay Tadese of Eritrea as the bell rang marking the last lap, opening a 20-meter gap on his main competitor and crossing the line in 26 minutes, 46.31 seconds.
“It’s great to win for the fourth time,” Bekele said. “I am so happy.”
Tadese took silver in 26:50.12, and Moses Dniema Masai of Kenya earned the bronze in 26:57.39.
Bekele’s victory in Berlin comes as no surprise — he has dominated the event since 2003. He owns the world record and has never lost the 10,000 at a major event.
With 3,600 meters to go, Bekele Tadese, Masai and Micah Kipkemboi Kogo of Kenya opened up a 20-meter gap on the rest of the field. Kogo dropped off first, later followed by Masai, who fell off the pace with three laps to go.
That left Tadese and Bekele to duel for the gold.
For Bekele, who is known for his for his amazing finishing power, everything was going according to plan.
“I planned already to stay behind until one lap is left, and then kick,” Bekele said.
And that’s just what he did.
Trailing Tadese by a step entering the last lap, Bekele charged past with a burst over 200 meters and cruised from there, taking home his fourth consecutive world title and equaling the four 10,000 world championships Haile Gebrselassie won.
Tadese, meanwhile, was thrilled to get his hands on his first medal.
“I am very, very happy,” Tadese said. “The race was tough because for many, many laps I was in front. The problem is at the finish. I am happy because this is my first time to be second at the world championships.”
With Bekele’s dominance in the 10,000 assured, the only question is whether the Ethiopian will try to repeat his double gold performance of the Beijing Olympics and run in the 5,000, which starts Thursday.
For now, Bekele said he just plans to let his 10,000 win soak in and will start thinking about the 5,000 tomorrow.
