#9 Almaz Ayana (Ethiopia)
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Almaz Ayana of Ethiopia literally destroyed the World Record in the Women’s 10,000m which was held by Wang Junxia of China. Ayana won the race almost 15 seconds ahead of her nearest rival with a time of 29:17:45 which is more than 14 seconds clear of the mark set by the Chinese in 1993.
The 24-year-old pulled away from the pack just half way into the race and nobody could keep up with her. Despite valiant efforts from race favourites Vivian Cheruiyot (Kenya) and TIrunesh Dibaba, the former Olympic champion, Ayana finished well ahead of both in what has been described by experts as the greatest 10,000m race of all time. Even Cheruiyot and Dibaba finished more than 10 seconds inside the previous Olympic record mark but Ayana proved herself to be a different class.
She also won a Bronze in the Women’s 5000m event. Despite heading into an early lead, she could not hold off Cheruiyot this time as the Kenyan overtook her in the final19-year-oldAyana established an early lead to win the gold in this event.
Medals: 1 Gold (Women’s 10,000m Athletics) , 1 Bronze (Women’s 5000m)
World Record : Women’s 10,000m Athletics (29:17:45)
