Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen made up for the disappointment of 1,500m silver by winning gold in the world 5,000m on Sunday.
Ingebrigtsen timed 13min 09.24sec for victory at Eugene’s Hayward Field, Kenya’s Jacob Krop claiming silver in 13:09.98 while Uganda’s Oscar Chelimo took bronze (13:10.20).
Uganda’s Olympic champion and world record holder Joshua Cheptegei finished down in the ninth position in a race in which Ingebrigtsen was in total control over the last two laps.
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“I didn’t want a sprint finish," Ingebrigtsen said. “I wanted to prove that I’m a better runner than the rest of the guys.
“It was a great race. I ran it, I needed it. I felt really good today, but 5km is really tough."
Cheptegei wasn’t afraid to put his foot down from the off, soon splitting the field with his 62-second lap pace.
The Kenyan trio of Krop, Nicholas Kipkorir and Daniel Ebenyo took up the running with eight laps to run, slowing the pace.
Kipkorir took the 15-stong pack through the halfway mark in 6:41.53, Ingebrigtsen sat on his shoulder as the runners bunched at a packed Hayward Field in hot, sunny conditions.
The Norwegian surged to the front with two laps to run, the speed noticeably quickened.
He went through the bell for the final lap in complete control, Krop attempting to pass him at 200 metres but to no avail.
As Ingebrigtsen raced into the home stretch, he accelerated convincingly away from his rivals, raising an arm and pointing to fans sat around the finish line in triumph.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - AFP)
