Haile to Bekele: new emperor of 10,000m is crowned

SPRINTING the final lap of the 10,000m, Kenenisa Bekele ended the reign of fellow Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie last night with an Olympic-record winning time of 27 minutes, 05.10 seconds.

Bekele broke away from another compatriot, Sileshi Sihine, with a little more than a lap to go. Sihine finished second, about 30m behind Bekele, followed by Zersenay Tadesse of Eritrea.

Gebrselassie, 31 and suffering from an Achilles injury, had won the last two Olympic 10,000m races. He finished fifth in what was probably the final track appearance of a glorious career.