Kejelcha Triumphs Over Aregawi at Ethiopian Olympic 10,000m Trials | RECAP

Yomif Kejelcha emerged victorious by a narrow margin at the Ethiopian 10,000m Olympic trials held in Nerja, Spain on Friday night. In an intense sprint finish, the 26-year-old set a new lifetime best of 26:31.01 to take the win, just edging out Berihu Aregawi who also clocked a personal best of 26:31.13. Olympic champion Selemon Barega secured the third spot on the team for Paris with a time of 26:34.93.

The 10,000m race was one of the highest quality races ever, with four men finishing inside 26:40 and six men finishing inside 26:50 for the first time. 17-year-old Biniam Mehary made history by placing fourth in a world U20 record time of 26:37.93, breaking a record that had stood for 19 years.

The race took place on a mild, windless night with good pacemaking, and the leaders went through the halfway mark in 13:17. Aregawi, Kejelcha, Barega, and Mehari remained at the front of the pack until the last pacemaker dropped out. Aregawi made a strong push in the final kilometer but only Mehari lost ground.

As the race reached its conclusion, Barega started to fade, leaving Aregawi and Kejelcha to battle it out. Kejelcha made a final push on the last bend, overtaking Aregawi in the last 30 meters to secure the win. In the women’s race, Fotyen Tesfay claimed victory in 29:47.71, just outside the top 10 on the all-time list. Tsigie Gebreselama and Ejgayehu Taye also set personal bests in the race.

Emeterio Valiente reported on the event for World Athletics.