Ethiopia earned three medals in the dramatic Women’s 10,000m race event on the opening day of the World Athletics Championships 2023 at the National Athletics Centre (Budapest, Hungary).
World Athletics Championships 2023: Women’s 10,000m – The Unforgettable Drama
A total of 22 players started the women’s 10,000m race event. Ethiopian-born Dutch Sifan Hassan, the highly successful versatile middle and long-distance runner, had a slow start in the race but gradually improved her positions, and in the final lap, she excellently moved to the front to bag the gold medal. The medal was almost near for Sifan, who worked really hard in the race, but just 20 meters away from the finishing line, the 30-year-old Dutch athlete fell badly to lose the medal chance.
World Athletics Championships 2023: Women’s 10,000m – The Medalists
Three Ethiopian ladies, Gudaf Tsegay (31:27.18), World Record holder Letesenbet Gidey (31:28.16) and Ejgayehu Taye (31:28.31), ultimately celebrated with the gold, silver and bronze medals, respectively.
Spirited Sifan Hassan
The two-time gold medallist and one-time bronze medallist in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Sifan Hassan, had a disappointing ending. She ultimately ended in 11th place in that race.
According to Reuters, Sifan said after the race, "I am keeping my smile but it is really hard. I am very disappointed. This is sport, these things happen. I just had a bad moment.”
World Athletics Championships 2023: Women’s 10,000m (Final Status)
Rank | Athlete | Country | Mark |
1 | Gudaf Tsegay | Ethiopia | 31:27.18 |
2 | Letesenbet Gidey | Ethiopia | 31:28.16 (SB) |
3 | Ejgayehu Taye | Ethiopia | 31:28.31 |
4 | Irine Jepchumba Kimais | Kenya | 31:32.19 (SB) |
5 | Alicia Monson | United States | 31:32.29 |
6 | Agnes Jebet Ngetich | Kenya | 31:34.83 (PB) |
7 | Ririka Hironaka | Japan | 31:35.12 (SB) |
8 | Jessica Warner-Judd | Great Britain & Northern Ireland | 31:35.38 |
9 | Grace Nawowuna | Kenya | 31:38.17 |
10 | Sarah Chelangat | Uganda | 31:40.04 (SB) |
(NOTE: PB = Personal Best; SB = Season Best)
Gudaf Tsegay and Letesenbet Gidey
Meanwhile, the Tokyo 2020 Olympics bronze medalist (women’s 5000m), Gudaf Tsegay, clinched her second gold medal in the World Athletics Championships history. Last year at Eugene, she not only won a silver medal in the women’s 1500m event but also clinched a gold medal in the women’s 5000m event.
In the meantime, the Tokyo 2020 Olympics bronze medalist (women’s 10,000m), Letesenbet Gidey, closely missed out on defending her World Athletics Championship title in the women’s 10,000m event on that dramatic night.
