Yenew Alamirew Closes In 53 To Win Men’s 5,000 At Shanghai Diamond League
by LetsRun.com
May 18, 2014
The first men’s 5,000 of the 2014 Diamond League season featured a slow start (2:41.54 1k, 5:19.42 2k, 7:56.98 3k, 10:38.41 4k) but furious finish tonight in Shanghai.
Heading into the bell, there were still 9 men in the lead pack but heading into the last 100, this was a three-person affair. But there was no doubt who was the best over the last 100 as 23-year-old Yenew Alamirew of Ethiopia won going away in 13:04.83 to finish off with a 53.66 last lap. 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Thomas Longosiwa of Kenya was second in 13:05.44 and 2013 silver medalist Hagos Gebrhiwet of Ethiopia was third in 13:06.88.
Final 100
Quick Thought #1: How did Alamirew finish 9th at Worlds last year?
He is VERY good. Last year, he won two of three DL 5,000s (Lausanne/Rome) heading into Worlds with the one loss coming to Mo Farah in Birmingham, but only got 9th in Moscow.
Because of his silver medal, Gebrhiwet is better known than Alamirew but Alamirew evened his lifetime record at 5,000 against Gebrhiwet to 5 wins and 5 losses. Alamirew won 4 of their 5 matchups at 5,000 last year, but lost the one that counted – World Champs.
Quick Thought #2: We thought it would be fun to compare this 5,000 race to the one that was run at Oxy the other day. In Oxy, in much hotter conditions (temps were the 60s today), Collis Birmingham won a 13:18 race with a 55.44 last lap. Here, Gebrhiwet closed in 55 and got his doors blown off in a 13:04 race.
That shows you just how good the Diamond League is.
Quick Thought #3: The fastest two men in the world in 2013, Edwin Soi (12:51.34 last year) and Albert Rop (12:51.96 last year) were fifth and seventh.
| ank | Athlete | Nation | Result | Diamond Points | Diamond Ranking | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
ETH
|
13:04.83
|
MR
|
4
|
1
|
 |
|
|
2
|
KEN
|
13:05.44
|
2
|
2
|
|||
|
3
|
ETH
|
13:06.88
|
1
|
3
|
|||
|
4
|
KEN
|
13:08.23
|
|||||
|
5
|
KEN
|
13:08.79
|
|||||
|
6
|
ETH
|
13:08.88
|
PB
|
||||
|
7
|
BRN
|
13:10.38
|
|||||
|
8
|
KEN
|
13:11.14
|
PB
|
||||
|
9
|
FRA
|
13:12.22
|
PB
|
||||
|
10
|
KEN
|
13:12.94
|
SB
|
||||
|
11
|
ERI
|
13:16.45
|
PB
|
||||
|
12
|
KEN
|
13:16.52
|
PB
|
||||
|
13
|
BRN
|
13:18.10
|
|||||
|
14
|
KEN
|
13:19.26
|
PB
|
||||
|
15
|
NZL
|
13:23.97
|
|||||
|
16
|
MAR
|
13:32.14
|
|||||
|
17
|
TUR
|
13:34.83
|
|||||
|
18
|
UGA
|
13:36.60
|
|||||
|
19
|
ERI
|
13:45.98
|
|||||
|
KEN
|
DNF
|
||||||
Bell Lap
Alamirew Pulls Away
Alamirew Wins