BRILLIANT BAREGA
Ethiopian distance runner claims first gold of athletics competition
Tokyo, July 30: Ethiopian distance runner Selemon Barega stormed to a brilliant
10,000m victory to claim the first gold medal of a spectator-less Olympic athletics competition at the Tokyo Games on Friday.
Barega, 21, ran a superb tactical race to hold off world champion Joshua Cheptegei and Ugandan compatriot Jacob Kiplimo to win in 27min 43.22sec. Cheptegei took silver in 27:43.63, with Kiplimo third.
It completed a subdued start to the 10-day track and field competition, which got under way in a mostly empty 68,000capacity Olympic Stadium with spectators barred due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Barega’s upset win was a rare blip on a first day that largely followed the form book as athletes adjusted to the unique surroundings of this year’s pandemic-delayed competition.
Unrelenting high-tempo music, an echoing public address tannoy, screeching cicadas and the odd cry of encouragement provided the soundtrack at the sparsely populated arena. But the ghostly atmosphere did not faze Jamaica’s history-chasing Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who safely negotiated the first round of the 100m.
The Netherlands’ longdistance star Sifan Hassan also advanced in the
5,000m, while Venezuela’s triple jump world champion Yulimar Rojas eased into Sunday’s final.
However there was an upset in the 4x400 relay, an event making its Olympic debut, when the powerful United States’ quartet was disqualified for an illegal changeover.
American teenager Athing Mu — a gold medal hope in the 800m — played down the lack of fans after a composed win in her morning heat.
FAST TRACK
Fraser-Pryce sailed through to the semi-finals in 10.84 seconds, easing up well before the finish line.
The Jamaican veteran is the fastest woman over 100m this year, clocking 10.63sec in June. FraserPryce believes she can go faster in Tokyo.
Her compatriot Elaine Thompson-Herah is the defending champion in both the 100 and 200m, and surged through her heat in temperatures of 34 degrees Celsius (93 Fahrenheit).