Hellen Obiri leads Kasait, Tirop into 5,000m final
Winner Ethiopia's Gudaf Tsegay (right) crosses the finish line ahead of second-placed Kenya's Hellen Obiri (centre) and Italy's Nadia Battocletti in the women's 5000m heats during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo on July 30, 2021.
What you need to know:
- The Netherlands' Sifan Hassan won the first heat in 14.47.89, with Agnes Tirop second in 14:48.01.
- Lillian Kasait was fifth, to complete the automatic qualification places in the heat while Ethiopians Senbere Teferi and Ejgayehu Taye would third and fourth respectively.
World champion Hellen Obiri led compatriots Lillian Kasait and Agnes Tirop into the 5,000 metres final after successfully navigating their heats on Friday at the National Olympic Stadium here.
With defending champion Vivian Cheruiyot out of the race after retiring from the track following her victory in Rio five years ago, the Kenyan trio will be hoping to come on top in the final.
Cheruiyot has since scaled to the road races.
From left: Ethiopia's Ejgayehu Taye, Kenya's Agnes Jebet Tirop, Turkey's Yasemin Can, Britain's Jessica Judd and Japan's Ririka Hironaka compete in the women's 5000m heats during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo on July 30, 2021.
The Netherlands' Sifan Hassan won the first heat in 14.47.89, with Agnes Tirop second in 14:48.01.
Lillian Kasait was fifth, to complete the automatic qualification places in the heat while Ethiopians Senbere Teferi and Ejgayehu Taye would third and fourth respectively.
Hassan, bidding to become the first athlete to win three individual gold medals on the track, waited patiently in the middle of the pack until the last 600 metres before she surged to the front at the bell to ease to victory.
Netherlands' Sifan Hassan (right) crosses the finish line to win the race ahead of second-placed Kenya's Agnes Jebet Tirop (left) in the women's 5000m heats during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo on July 30, 2021.
Obiri finished second in Heat 2 behind Ethiopia's Gudaf Tsegay while Italy's Nadia Battocletti was third.
Burundi's Frasncine Niyonsaba, who was bidding to get into the podium in the final after scaling up to the 5,000m, was disqualified from the race.
