Ameyu Etana
Gudaf Tsegay won Ethiopia’s first World Athletics Championships gold in Budapest in dramatic fashion on Saturday night after 10,000m race leader Sifan Hassan fell about 20m from the finish line.
It was a clean sweep for Ethiopia, with world record-holder Letesenbet Gidey taking the silver and Ejgayehu Taye the bronze.
“It was good race with an amazing finish,” said Tsegay, who clocked 31 minutes and 27.18 seconds.
Hassan, a Dutch Ethiopian-born athlete, was moving to the outside as Tsegay – the reigning world 5,000m champion – approached. After her fall, Hassan eventually got back on her feet and finished in 11th place.
She was consoled by the other athletes, with Gidey immediately going back to hug her.
“I think I got pushed, but what can I do? It’s sport, it can happen,” Hassan told BBC Sport after the race about her disappointment.
Despite running for the Netherlands, Hassan also has fans in Ethiopia particularly because of her support for those campaigning for more rights for the country’s large ethnic Oromo group, which has felt marginalised for many years.
Hassan and Tsegay are set to face each other again during the 5,000m race later at the championships in Hungary.
Source: BBC
