| The event lost some of its lustre when defending champion Tirunesh Dibaba withdrew having failed to fully recover from the 10,000m. A modest pace was set in the final with Fukushi leading through the first two kilometres with splits of 2:59.22 and 3:05.47 [6:04.69]. Cheruiyot was the leader for the next two kilometres, reaching 4000m in 12:13.05, which set the race up for the best kickers in the field. Defar, renowned as no worse than the second best finisher around (the best being Dibaba), lived up to her reputation. The Olympic Champion and world record holder took the lead just before the bell, and ran succesDOHA 2019 PAST RESULTS/WORLD CHAMPS WOMEN’S 5000m 283 sive 200m splits of 30.45 and 28.18 to win by 5m from Cheruiyot (28.58 last 200m), with Cherono edging Kibet for the bronze. Abeylegesse finished fifth for the second successive World Championships, but that result was annulled a decade later when it was confirmed that an anabolic steroid had been present after a re-test of her 2007 doping control sample. She was also stripped of the 10,000m silver she had taken one week earlier in Osaka. |
