Wow: Is This Best Finish To A Distance Race Ever?

by LetsRun.com
July 15, 2016

If you thought the men’s 5,000 at the Olympic Trials was wild, you need to check out the men’s 5,000 at last week’s European Championships in Amsterdam. Just watch this final lap:

https://youtu.be/A-KvIvy0L1E?t=16m10s

Where to even begin? Henrik Ingebrigtsen’s race alone was enough to write a book about — he was in 10th with 500 to go, 8th at the bell and 6th entering the final turn, six meters off the lead pack. He was just .02 from winning gold yet wound up out of the medals entirely. And perhaps most amazingly, he ran an entire 5,000-meter race in a speedsuit.

Ilias Fifa was in fifth with 10 meters to go and wound up winning the race. How often does that happen in a 5k? The top five were separated by .09; the top four were separated by just .01; the top three recorded the exact same time. If a 60-meter race was that close, it would be notable. That a finish like this came in a 5,000 is almost inconceivable.

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We feel bad for whoever was in charge of the official results. Good luck sorting this out:

Screenshot 2016-07-12 at 10.16.15 PM Click on image for a larger image

Results

Pl. Athlete / Team Cnt. Birth Result Score
1. Ilias FIFA ESP 89 13:40.85 1064
2. Adel MECHAAL ESP 90 13:40.85 1064
3. Richard RINGER GER 89 13:40.85 1064 SB
4. Henrik INGEBRIGTSEN NOR 91 13:40.86 1064 SB
5. Morhad AMDOUNI FRA 88 13:40.94 1064
6. Hayle IBRAHIMOV AZE 90 13:42.20 1060
7. Florian ORTH GER 89 13:45.40 1049
8. Yemaneberhan CRIPPA ITA 96 13:46.30 1046
9. Aras KAYA TUR 94 13:47.42 1042 SB
10. Martin SPERLICH GER 91 13:48.81 1037
11. Jamel CHATBI ITA 84 13:49.93 1033
12. Dennis LICHT NED 84 13:54.21 1019
13. Jonathan TAYLOR GBR 87 13:55.20 1016
14. Carlos MAYO ESP 95 13:58.22 1006
15. Brenton ROWE AUT 87 13:58.96 1003
16. Jonathan DAVIES GBR 94 14:04.13 986
17. Kevin BATT IRL 91 14:20.50 932
18. Sindre BURAAS NOR 89 14:26.05 915
19. Mykola NYZHNYK UKR 95 14:28.24 908

 

 

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