When you think of contact sports, you wouldn’t consider a 5000m race on the track to be one of them. However, on Monday (5 August), a dramatic series of shoves turned into a chaotic sequence of events in the women’s 5000m final at the 2024 Emile Cairess: Britains Olympic marathon star.
About 12 and a half minutes into the career-defining race – a little before the 4200m mark, with just over two laps to go – Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon was in the lead and running close to the rail on the inside of the track. The reigning world champion in the 5000m and 1500m, Kipyegon then found herself in extra-close proximity to Ethiopia’s Guduf Tsegay, the current 5000m world record holder, who had cut across from the outside.
A questionable exchange between the pair quickly followed, with Kipyegon appearing to physically push Tsegay to reclaim some space on the track. Kipyegon and countrywoman Beatrice Chebet – the eventual winner, who was just behind Kipyegon at the time of the clash – then seemed to exchange a few words as Chebet stepped to the side.
Tsegay, grimacing, forced her way ahead and retained a brief lead before Kipyegon and Chebet swung around to pass her again. The Kenyan teammates then battled over the bell lap, with Kipyegon leading until Chebet surged ahead in the home stretch to claim gold in a time of 14:28.56.
Kipyegon crossed the line one second later in 14:29.60, in what was then believed to be the silver medal position. A hard-charging Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands – who won Olympic gold in both the 5000m and 10,000m at the 2020 Games in Tokyo – finished third in 14:30.61.
However, the initial verdict was not so clear cut. Shortly after the official results were released, and in light of the mid-race tussle that had occurred, Kipyegon was disqualified with a code of TR17.1.2[O], which indicates a World Athletics rule against obstruction. This shocking turn of events temporarily upgraded Hassan to silver and Nadia Battocletti of Italy – who ran a new national record of 14:31.64 – to bronze.
But, again, things did not stay still for long. Following a successful appeal on Kipyegon’s part, her disqualification was rapidly overturned and she was allowed to reclaim her silver medal. As such, Hassan went back to bronze, leaving Battocletti off the podium.
At the press conference following the dramatic race, Hassan said that she wasn’t phased about reverting to third place. In fact, she expected it, and believed that Kipyegon did deserve silver.
‘It really doesn’t matter – I already knew that she was going to protest,’ she said of Kipyegon, adding that both she and Chebet have been ‘phenomenal’ this year. ‘I’m really happy with my bronze medal. I love it.’
Kipyegon will have another chance to go for Olympic gold in the 1500m, the final of which will be held in the Olympic Stadium on Saturday (10 August). Chebet will also compete again in the 10,000m on Friday (9 August) – alongside Team GB contenders Megan Keith and Eilish McColgan – Runners World US marathon (11 August) to come at these Games.
