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Goucher takes surprise bronze for Team USA
By Parker Morse, Running USA wire
OSAKA, Japan - (August 25, 2007) - The women's 10,000 meter final on the first night of the 2007 IAAF World Championships in Osaka proved to be a wild race, but in the end it was defending champion Tirunesh Dibaba who prevailed on the Nagai Stadium track. Dibaba of Ethiopia ran 31:55.41, a minute and a half slower than her 2005 Helsinki gold medal time and almost two minutes slower than the 2003 winning time; second place went to former 5000m world record holder Elvan Abeylegesse of Turkey in 31:59.40.
The biggest surprise was the third place finish of American Kara Goucher, whose 32:02.05 is the best U.S. Worlds finish ever in this event and the first U.S. distance track medal since Lynn Jennings' 1992 Olympic bronze in this event. Goucher was followed by Deena Kastor of Mammoth Lakes, Calif. in sixth; Kastor herself was just one place behind Jennings' World Championships best. Katie McGregor of St. Louis Park, Minn. finished 13th in 32:44.76.
Like the men's marathon earlier in the day, the race started slowly under warm, humid conditions, with Belgian Nathalie De Vos assuming the lion's share of pacing duties early in the race. The slow pace meant a crowded, jostling pack, however. Japanese champion Kayoko Fukushi pulled out of the pack and stopped before halfway in order to secure a shoe which had been clipped off her heel; the pace at that point was so slow she was able to rejoin the pack and take the lead within another kilometer.
Shortly after Fukushi took the lead, Dibaba, hanging at the back of the pack, was thrown off her stride when her countrywoman Mestawet Tufa tangled with Australia's Benita Johnson, and both went down in front of Dibaba. Tufa and Johnson rejoined the pack, but Dibaba lagged, in evident discomfort and sometimes appearing to rub her stomach. Tufa took the pace from Fukushi and slowed the pace enough to allow Dibaba to rejoin.
Finally, it was Abeylegesse who decided that waiting for Dibaba's kick was not the way to win a world title, and she broke up the pack with a strong surge. Dibaba, however, was able to cover that move, and from there the result was a foregone conclusion: just before the bell, Dibaba, 20, kicked past Abeylegesse and sailed to her second 10,000m title and fourth World track title.
"If it had been another competition I would have stopped," Dibaba said post-race. "I only continued because it was a race for my country, and I only finished because it was a race for my country. I had stomach pains."
Behind the top two, however, East Africans were unusually scarce. Goucher, who resides in Portland, Ore., led a trio consisting of herself, Briton Jo Pavey, and New Zealander Kim Smith; Kastor trailed in sixth. The trio sometimes appeared to be gaining on Abeylegesse and Dibaba, but couldn't close the gap. Pavey moved to pass Goucher in the final lap, but Goucher fought back and earned a less-than-two-second edge over Pavey in the final lap; Pavey was fourth in 32:03.81, and Smith fifth in 32:06.89.
Goucher said after the race, "With the pace so slow, I was thinking to myself that this is good for me. With two laps to go, I was thinking that fifth or sixth would be good, but then I thought about running in the sauna suit, and the 90 mile weeks, and the aqua jogging, and I said to myself, 'sprint.' I've never been in a race so rough."
Kastor, the 2004 Olympic Marathon bronze medalist, was disappointed, "The race went exactly how I didn't want it to go, very tactical and slow, and I didn't put myself in the position to be up there from the very beginning. I made the mistake [of being] in the pack where there was a lot of pushing and shoving, and suffered the consequences."
McGregor was downbeat about her performance, saying, "It was really hard to get comfortable and I probably should have been more aggressive. I was in the back in the beginning, but when it was time to move up, I just didn't play it right."
11th IAAF Track & Field World Championships - Osaka, JPN, Saturday, August 25, 2007
WOMEN'S 10,000m
1) Tirunesh Dibaba (ETH), 31:55.41, $60,000
2) Elvan Abeylegesse (TUR), 31:59.40, $30,000
3) Kara Goucher (USA), 32:02.05, $20,000
4) Jo Pavey (GBR), 32:03.81, $15,000
5) Kim Smith (NZL), 32:06.89, $10,000
6) Deena Kastor (USA), 32:24.58, $6000
7) Ejegayehu Dibaba (ETH), 32:30.44, $5000
8) Philes Ongori (KEN), 32:30.74, $4000
9) Emily Chebet (KEN), 32:31.21
10) Kayoko Fukushi (JPN), 32:32.85
Other U.S.
13) Katie McGregor (USA), 32:44.76
Complete results, photos and more at: Osaka2007.IAAF.org.
Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Director
(805) 696-6232; Fax = (805) 659-0016
Ryan@RunningUSA.org
www.RunningUSA.org.
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