Vivian Cheruiyot to double up in Rio

A day after earning an Olympic ticket in the 10,000m, World champion Vivian Cheruiyot completed a double by qualifying in the 5,000m on Friday, sending a strong signal to her Ethiopian rivals.

Ethiopia is yet to pick a team for the 5,000m but when they do, it will most certainly include World champion Almaz Ayana, who on Wednesday qualified in the 10,000m during the Ethiopian trials in the Dutch city of Hengelo.

She made the team along with defending champion Tirunesh Dibaba and Gelete Burka.

Japan-based Paul Tanui finally came out top in the 10,000m in a dramatic race at packed the Kipchoge Keino Stadium in Eldoret that saw World Championships silver medallist Geoffrey Kamworor drop out with stitches.

Tanui (26:46:15), who runs for Kyudenko Team in Fukuoka, Japan, and who won bronze at the last two World Championships in Moscow (2013) and Beijing (2015), was in top form, dominating the race that also saw World Cross Country and World Half Marathon silver medallist Bedan Karoki also drop out.

New find Charles Yosei also made it to the August 4-21 Games in Rio de Janeiro by finishing second in 27:57:07 with Wilfred Kimitei (28:12:22) and William Sitonik Malel (28:23:56) following. The Kenyan 10,000m men’s team will have Tanui, Yosei, Karoki and Kamworor.

“This win was not assured, but I thank God that at last I can make it to the Olympic Games,” Tanui said.

Yosei, an athlete training under Golazo Sports, said he was worried before the start of the race.

“I never imagined I could make it to the podium and most importantly, get a ticket to represent my country at the Olympics,” Yosei said.

In the women’s 5,000m, Olympic silver medallist Cheruiyot made it a double, winning in 15:01:60, just a day after winning the 10,000m. The 2013 World Championships 1,500m bronze medallist Hellen Obiri was a distant second in 15:13:45 with Commonwealth champion Mercy Cherono (15:25:51) third. The three will make the team.