Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay set the second senior world record of her career and her first outdoors, smashing the world 5000m record with a remarkable 14:00.21* run at the Wanda Diamond League Final in Eugene on Sunday (17).
In the second track final of packed second day of action at Hayward Field, the world 10,000m champion took almost five seconds off the world record of 14:05.20 that Faith Kipyegon set in Paris in June as part of a record spree that also saw the Kenyan set global marks for the 1500m and mile.
A fast time had been on the cards and world indoor 1500m record-holder Tsegay delivered in sensational style. The pacemakers led her through 1000m in 2:48.08 and 2000m in 5:37.24, before Tsegay’s Ethiopian compatriot Birke Haylom reached 3000m in front in 8:26.03 – well on world record pace.
Looking composed and determined, Tsegay maintained that tempo, reaching 4000m in 11:16.89. She only had Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet for company at that point but soon she left the two-time world medallist behind, too, as she strode away targeting another historic performance.
Tsegay created a gap on Chebet with two laps to go and by the backstraight she had stormed ahead of the lights indicating world record pace, too.
She reached the bell in around 12:55 and with the crowd on their feet and the clock ticking towards 14 minutes, she crossed the line just after that, in 14:00.21.
Chebet followed her in 14:05.92, the third-fastest performance of all time and just outside Kipyegon’s previous world record.
*Subject to the usual ratification procedure
