2009 World Championships in Athletics – Women's 10,000 metres

The women's 10,000 metres at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Olympic Stadium on 15 August. The Ethiopian team was particularly strong in the event, with two-time World Champion Tirunesh Dibaba, 5000 metres World Champion Meseret Defar, and African record holder Meselech Melkamu all vying for first place. The 2007 silver medallist Elvan Abeylegesse, Olympic bronze medallist Shalane Flanagan, and the World Cross Country Champion Florence Kiplagat were other athletes with strong medal possibilities.Ramsak, Bob (2009-08-09). Women's 10,000m - PREVIEW . IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-08-15.

The race featured a number of surprises and upsets, beginning with the withdrawal of the defending champion Dibaba due to a leg injury, replaced by Wude Ayalew.No title defence for injured Dibaba. Press Association (2009-08-15). Retrieved on 2009-08-15. The race started awkwardly when the outer alley of the starting group, led by Florence Kiplagat, broke to the inside at the gun. Essentially Masai, Ayalew, Grace Momanyi and the other five runners on the outside who followed Kiplagat ran a course some 14 meters shorter than the twelve runners from the other larger alley. But confused officials did not recall the start or issue any disqualifications for the incident. Still, Inês Monteiro took the early lead with the outer runners falling in behind her. By the end of the first lap Yukari Sahaku and Yurika Nakamura had emerged as the pacesetters. After a kilometer, the Russian duo of Liliya Shobukhova and Mariya Konovalova took the lead. Konovalova held the point, marked by Nakamura at an even, leisurely pace for this crowd until just after eight laps to go when Linet Masai, who had been hanging around the back of the tight pack made a quick move to the front. All three Ethiopians rushed to mark the move. By the end of the lap, 2007 medallist Abeylegesse dropped out of the race and a quintet of runners ( Masai, Melkamu, Defar, Ayalew and Grace Momanyi) had broken away from the rest of the pack. Lap times dropped from the 75 second average to 71, to 69. But Masai's pace slowed back to 70 then 71. Momanyi came up to take the lead with the Ethiopians changing their focus though Ayalew was struggling to keep on the back behind Masai. After taking the break for a lap, Masai returned to take the lead. As the runners approached the finish line for the bell, favourites Defar and Melkamu sprinted in front. Defar held the lead through the final turn, with Melkamu boxing Masai, neither could completely break away. With clear running room coming off the turn, Masai tried to get her long legs going. She wasn't able to make much progress, nor could Melkamu pass her teammate until Defar began to fade, unable to maintain her speed. Melkamu took the lead. 14 meters out, Masai passed Melkamu. Perhaps not noticing, Melkamu prematurely celebrated but Masai was a meter ahead to take the gold medal with a tactically-timed run. Defar, completely exhausted, eventually finished in fifth as Ayalew sprinted past Momanyi to take the bronze.Butcher, Pat (2009-08-15). Berlin 2009 - Day 1 WRAP - 15 Aug. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-08-15. Archived 2009-09-08.

Breaking a decade of Ethiopian dominance, nineteen-year-old Masai's gold medal was the first Kenyan victory in the event since the 1997 World Championships, and the country's first 10,000 m medal since 1999.Ramsak, Bob (2009-08-15). Event Report - Women's 10,000m - Final. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-08-15. Archived 2009-09-08.

Medalists GoldSilverBronzeLinet Masai Meselech MelkamuWude Ayalew

Records World record29:31.78Beijing, China8 September 1993Championship record30:04.18Paris, France23 August 2003World Leading29:53.80Utrecht, Netherlands14 June 2009African record29:53.80Utrecht, Netherlands14 June 2009Asian record29:31.78Beijing, China8 September 1993North American record30:22.22Beijing, China15 August 2008South American record31:47.76Stuttgart, Germany21 August 1993European record29:56.34Beijing, China15 August 2008Oceanian record30:35.54Palo Alto, United States4 May 2008

Qualification standards A timeB time 31:45.00 32:20.00

Schedule Date Time RoundAugust 15, 2009 19:25 Final

Results Rank Athlete Nationality Time Notes Linet Masai 30:51.24 SB Meselech Melkamu 30:51.34 Wude Ayalew 30:51.95 Grace Momanyi 30:52.25 PB Meseret Defar 30:52.37 Amy Yoder Begley 31:13.78 PB Yurika Nakamura 31:14.39 PB Kim Smith 31:21.42 SB Kayoko Fukushi 31:23.49 SB 10 Inês Monteiro 31:25.67 PB 11 Mariya Konovalova 31:26.94 12 Florence Jebet Kiplagat 31:30.85 13 Ana Dulce Félix 31:30.90 PB 14 Shalane Flanagan 31:32.19 15 Kseniya Agafonova 31:43.14 16 Ana Dias 31:49.91 17 Katie McGregor 32:18.49 18 Zhang Yingying 32:33.63 SB 19 Liliya Shobukhova 32:42.36 20 Yukari Sahaku 33:41.17 Elvan Abeylegesse Olivera Jevtic

Key: PB = Personal best, SB = Seasonal best

Splits Intermediate Athlete Country Mark 1000m Yurika Nakamura 3:08.85 2000m Mariya Konovalova 6:17.01 3000m Liliya Shobukhova 9:24.89 4000m Mariya Konovalova 12:35.29 5000m Mariya Konovalova 15:45.19 6000m Mariya Konovalova 18:55.45 7000m Linet Chepkwemoi Masai 22:04.20 8000m Linet Chepkwemoi Masai 25:00.18 9000m Meseret Defar 27:58.29

References General 10,000 metres results from IAAF. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-08-15. Specific