Women's 10,000m final: The battle of the world record-breakers
The battle for women's 10,000 metre supremacy has captured the imagination over the last few months and is expected to reach fever pitch at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games (in 2021).
Athletics
The incumbent Olympic champion Almaz Ayana of Ethiopia will not be in Tokyo to defend her crown in the 25-lap event. The race to the Tokyo 2020 final has evolved into an all-out assault on the world record Ayana held until recently.
Ayana’s compatriot Letesenbet Gidey and Dutchwoman Sifan Hassan have emerged as the top contenders for the Olympic title playing tit-for-tat with the world record.
The world record Ayana set en route to the Rio 2016 Olympic gold first fell into the hands of Hassan on 6 June, only for Gidey to lower the 10,000m global mark two days later.
Athletics fans are rubbing their hands with glee over the prospect of Hassan and Gidey lining up in the final at the Olympic Games, where the first sub-29 minutes race has entered the realm of possibilities. But will the race for the vacant crown be a two-horse race, or will we see other challengers spoil their party? We look at how we got to this record-breaking point and the possible challenger(s).
Gidey on a world-record breaking spree
The Ethiopian showed early promise in winning back-to-back junior women’s titles at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in 2015 and 2017.
Gidey's transition from the 5,000m into the 10,000m proved to be a successful one. The Ethiopian won the silver medal at the 2019 World Championships in Doha in just her third competitive race over the distance. She finished second behind Hassan, 3.5 seconds off the pace, in a new personal best of 30:21.23.
Gidey raced into the history books at the NN Valencia World Record Day a year later, slashing more than four seconds off the 5,000m world record set by compatriot Tirunesh Dibaba in Oslo 2008. Gidey passed the 3 000m point almost seven seconds ahead of the world record pace before crossing the line in a time of 14:06.62.
I expected to run the world record. Next, I will try again, to run maybe 28:56.
Gidey seems to be timing her peak to perfection ahead of the Games producing her magnum opus at the Ethiopian Olympic Trials in Hengelo, the Netherlands, in June.
The athletics world was still coming to grips with the world-record run by Hassan before Gidey unleashed a top performance on the same track to improve the mark by five seconds with 29:01.03.
In the process, she became the first woman to hold both the 5000m and 10,000m world records since Norway's Ingrid Kristiansen in 1986.
Following the race, Gidey sent out a stark warning to her competitors that it may take a world-breaking effort to beat her at this year's Olympic Games.
"I expected to run the world record. Next, I will try again, to run maybe 28:56," Gidey told World Athletics.
An appetite for world records
Hassan stands squarely in Gidey's way to the top of the podium, having already beaten her in a head-to-head at the world championships in Doha two years ago.
The Ethiopian-born Dutchwoman has demonstrated an insatiable appetite for breaking world records setting global marks in the mile, one-hour event and the women-only road 5km.
Highlighting her incredible range, Hassan won a rare 1500m-10 00m double in Doha 2019, becoming the first person to achieve the feat at the world championships.
She first beat Gidey to the line in the 10,000m before upsetting Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon of Kenya to win the gold medal in the 1 500m seven days later.
Adding another string to her bow, Hassan shattered the 10,000m record of 29:17.45 Ayana set at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
Hassan was in imperious form in Hengelo, Netherlands clipping 10.63 seconds off the previous mark clocking 29:06.82.
"Wow, to run this world record here today in Hengelo is something I could only dream of," Hassan said. "It's the perfect confirmation of the hard work we've put in getting ready for Tokyo."
Like Gidey, Hassan has expressed her desire and belief that she can break through the 29-minute barrier. When the duo lines up against each other in the 10,000m final in the Olympic Stadium on 7 August, the world may come to witness this spectacular feat.
The dark horse
The 10,000m races at major competitions such as the Olympic Games are not necessarily designed for world records and are often tactical – Ayana’s
Both Gidey and Hassan benefited from pacing lights in their assaults on the world record, which will not be a feature at the Olympics.
Having both Hassan and Gidey in the same race with the gold medal on the line could see the athletes take a conservative approach.
The tactical approach may suit other contenders, such as Kenya's double world 5,000m champion Hellen Obiri. Obiri has her sights set on the 5,000m/10 000m double in Tokyo 2020 after qualifying for both events at the Kenyan Olympic trials.
The 31-year-old Obiri is a seasoned campaigner and has beaten Gidey into third place at the 2019 World Cross Country Championships for the title and in the 5,000m at the 2020 Monaco Diamond League.
"I have no pressure. I will be facing familiar opponents in Tokyo," Obiri told Athletics Kenya at the Olympic trials.
"I am used to fast-paced races, and all I am going to do is continue with my training."