Hellen Obiri produced a jaw-dropping performance to floor Ethiopia star Almaz Ayana and storm to the women’s 5000m gold on the last day of the London IAAF World Championships on Sunday.
Obiri proved to her words that she was in the best form of her life when she matched Ayana’s steps up to the bell and unleash the afterburners with 400m to the line, winning in 14:34.86.
Ayana settled for silver in a season’s best of 14:40.35 to bag double in the championships after storming to gold in the women’s 10,000m on the opening day.
Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands grabbed bronze in 14:42.73 to make amends after missing out a medal in her favourite 1500m final that was dominated by Kenyan Faith Kipyegon.
The win for Obiri saw Kenya reclaim the gold for the first time since 2011 when Vivian Cheruiyot won it in Daegu, South Korea.