Gudaf Tsegay goes 4th on the all-time list, winning Ethiopian 10000m trials in Nerja, Spain

Addis Ababa, June 24, 2023 (FBC) – Gudaf Tsegay has run fourth-fastest time ever over 10,000m in her second time racing this distance to win the Ethiopian World Championships Trials.

World 5000m champion Gudaf Tsegay chopped 10 seconds from her PB to win the 10,000m in 29:29.73 at Ethiopia’s World Championships Trials, held in the Spanish town of Nerja on Friday (23).

Contesting just her second race at the distance, and competing on her 26th birthday, Gudaf reached the half-way point in 14:40, by which point she was already running alone. 

Her pace dropped in the second half, but only slightly as she won by almost half a minute from compatriot Ejgayehu Taye (29:57.45) and world indoor 3000m champion Lemlem Hailu (29:59.15), who both dipped inside 30 minutes.

Gudaf’s winning mark is the fourth-fastest time ever, and this was just the second 10,000m race in history in which three women have finished inside 30 minutes.

World cross-country silver medallist Berihu Aregawi, meanwhile, won the men’s race in 26:50.66, finishing one second ahead of Olympic champion Selemon Barega.

The duo passed through 3000m in 8:08 and 5000m in 13:34 before making a break from the rest of the field in the second half. 

Berihu did most of the leading duties during the closing stages, but Selemon remained on his shoulder. 

On the final lap, Berihu managed to hold off Selemon’s famed finishing speed, winning in 26:50.66 to Selemon’s 26:51.87. 17-year-old Yismaw Dilu finished third in 27:08.85, the second-fastest time ever by an U18 athlete.