Women's Olympic 5000 Final: Can Anyone Beat Kipyegon? Can Cranny Break Up the Big-7?

Just learned Kipyegon was DQ'd and Hassan moved up to silver with Italian Battocletti moved up to bronze. US runners Schweizer, Cranny and Morgan finished 9th, 10th and 13th.

100% she should be proud of that race. She did absolutely everything right and simply wasn't good enough. A far superior performance to anything many Americans (cough cough Woody) could've turned in. Gained a fan tonight.

also a shoutout to Whitni Morgan, broke 15 in her first Olympic final. solid effort considering she began the year injured and didn't even know if she'd compete in the trials.

14:53.57, 8.5 sec PR.

Well the first part was right, Second part, not so much. Chebet is quite a runner.

8:46 for her last 3000...of course the winner was 8:21 and something like 4:20 for last 1600 but still for Whitni to pr in a race that started so slow is very good.

She tried to go for it.

Per race analysis (see below), the top group of 13 was together at 11:55 - 11:57 at 4000. Elise was 11:55 in 5th place.

Then the real racing started.

Chebet, Kipyegon, Hassan, Battocletti, Kipkemboi, Taye, and Eisa smoked the next 400 in 64.6 - 65.0.

Elise was 67.2 -- so yes, she tried.

Karissa was 68.5.

Hard to believe, but Tsegay allowed the tussle w/Kipyegon to get to her and dropped back to 69.3.

After that, it was over for Cranny.

While the rest of the top 7 ran their final six 100 meter splits in the high 13s to low 16s, Cranny dumped a bunch of 17s, slowest being 17.9.

Better stat: Chebet's final 400 was 57.4. Cranny's was 70.2.

Even Schweizer closed in 66.4.

Very bad look for Cranny, especially since she closed last year's Budapest 5000 final in 62 for 9th place.

Cranny has established a pattern of being on top of her game at the Oly Trials and USA Championships . . . but very spotty at global championships.

Not giving up on Elise since it wasn't until March when she finally settled in with new coach Jarred Cornfield and her new training partners. Expecting much better racing out of her later this summer after the Olympics and certainly next year.

Great race for Schweizer, coming so close to Tsegay and well ahead of Cranny, Blomqvist and the others. Her fitness has really developed over the past couple months.

Still, remembering Karissa ran a 14:26 pr back in July 2020, wondering how good she would be now if she had avoided all the injuries.

Karissa should be set up for another top-10 finish in the upcoming 10,000 which is actually her better event.

And, a big High-5 to Whittni Morgan for staying with the pack though all the mid-race 70s, punching a 68.8 at the 4k mark, then coming home in 71.9 for a 9-sec pr following a near-pr in the semis. Huge fitness improvement since her spring races coming off injury. Like Cranny, hoping for more prs after the Olympics

Most Important take-a-way from this race: Nadia Battocletti/Italy proved that the East African hegemony in women's distance running can be broken up by non-African-born runners. Just as Grant showed in the men's 10,000. She beat all three Ethiopians + Kimpemboi. And, set a personal best in the biggest race of her career.

If Battocletti can do it, US women can do it. Just has to be a faster crop of athletes than Monson, Kelati and Schweizer who are all best at 10,000 and longer events.

Cranny has the speed endurance given her 3:57/1500 pr but just hasn't been able to put it together on the global stage, thus not banking on her to lead a future generation of US 5k talent.

Maybe Whittni Morgan will be that runner. Maybe Katelyn Tuohy -- now back in near-top form and chasing prs later this month. Maybe Parker Valby, who appears to be in the same 10k-and-longer boat with Monson, Kelati and Schweizer but is so young we still don't know what her potential is at any distance.

The consolation prize for US women: this is the first time at an Olympics or World Championships that all three made the final and broke 15:00.

At least that's a start.

As they say, its deja vu all over again. Nobody had the guts to take the pace out fast, so the African contingency (and Hassan) jogged thru the first 2/3 of the race then blew everyone else away. Who would have thought it would have turned out this way?

ESP could have been in the mix for a medal here. A perfect race for her. Kipyegon may be vulnerable for the 1500.

Battocletti runs for one of the dirtiest doping nations and is coached by someone previously busted for doping. The hegemony she busted up is based on the exact same thing.

Yes, in the future, if ESP opts up for the 5,000.

Elle has better speed than Elise. Over the next few days we'll find out if she also has a stronger constitution and/or better preparations for racing global championships than Elise.

Speaking of the 1500, there is talk that Tsegay may have picked up an injury in the 5000 tonight -- possibly the reason for her shutting it down the last 400 and finishing 8th, just a tick ahead of Schweizer.

And, yes, Kipyegon has finally shown a crack in her armour.

So, Good News for Jessica Hull . . . and the Americans.

The women's 1500 final may very well be much closer than expect . . . and could usurp the men's 1500 final as one of the greatest footraces ever.

Tsegay had a very different plan to beat Kipyegon and she almost pulled it off.

I have no doubt that she will take the 10k.

In a nutshell. An EPO nandrolone nutshell.

I posted that here and on several sites a month ago, that I had no idea who would win a sprint finish between Kipyegon and Chebet at 5000. I'm very surprised Kipyegon didn't push earlier to try to get rid of Chebet. It might not have worked but it was easily her best chance, to go with 1200 remaining to turn it into a pseudo 1500. Once Kipyegon unleashed her typical backstretch move and gained no ground at all it was obvious the younger elite would prevail.

During the same comments a month ago I mentioned that it often plays out this way in Olympic and sports history, that an all time great can shake every challenge except the one from within the same circle. They are simply not as intimidated. Well done by Beatrice Chebet. She will be a star of these Games and the new Hassan.

Otherwise it would have been an all time travesty if Kipyegon had remained disqualified. The judges who made that initial call should be strung up from the rim of the stadium. Gudaf Tsegay is not only a pretender with a glass jaw but she is low class in tactics, facial expressions and everything else. I don't like her.

Kipyegon now has a big problem at 1500. The young Ethiopians like Diribe Welteji will be fully rested, less intimidated and fully motivated. Welteji blew past a tired Kipyegon in the road mile last year.

I mentioned a year ago that I wasn't sure it was wise to attempt this double, given the Paris schedule. Kipyegon would have gained far less toward her legacy by adding the 5000 gold than she loses if she fails to 3-peat at 1500. That's why I posted a month ago that Jakob has the most at stake in Paris with Kipyegon second. I think she got suckered by how easy the 1500/5000 double seemed last year in Budapest.