Ethiopia: Bolt and Ayana: Familiar Faces, Phenomenal Deeds – 2016 World Athletes of the Year
Ayana – entering uncharted territory
While Bolt’s heroics seemed almost inevitable, those of Ayana, still a rising star in the distance ranks, were not.
After landing within three seconds of the 5000m world record last year and striking gold in the event at the World Championships, the conventional wisdom was that Ayana might finally eclipse compatriot Tirunesh Dibaba's eight-year-old 14:11.15 world record. She did eventually shatter a world record, but not over the distance everyone expected.
Ayana showed strong form early, opening her season with a dominant 3000m victory at the IAAF Diamond League series opener in Doha, winning in 8:23.11 after a 65-second final lap.
“It was a very good race for me,” said Ayana, who won by more than three seconds and came up just 0.47 shy of the national record she set last year. “My mind is already on Rio."
She also seemed preoccupied with fast times.
Sixteen days later, she dominated her first 5000m outing of the season, coming within five seconds of the world record with a 14:16.31 performance in Rabat, at the time the fifth fastest ever. Ten days later she came even closer at Rome's Olympic Stadium where she clocked 14:12.59, the second fastest of all time and just 1.44 seconds shy of Dibaba's record.
But it was her next outing, at the Ethiopian 10,000m Olympic Trials race in Hengelo, that caught many off guard, and which signalled her true Rio Olympic intentions.
Running in her debut over the distance, Ayana dominated the contest and cruised to a 30:07.00 victory, the eighth fastest performance of all time and the fastest debut in history. Among those she beat was Tirunesh Dibaba, the two-time Olympic champion in the event, who suffered her first career defeat over the distance. Suddenly, Ayana was the woman to beat in two events in Rio.
In Rio, Ayana managed to deliver the best possible kick-off to the athletics competition. In the 10,000m final which was held during the morning session of the opening day, she broke away from the pack just after half way and forged on to shatter the world record, clocking 29:17.45.
"I never thought that this would happen," said Ayana, whose stunning performance eclipsed the 29:31.78 record set by China's Wang Junxia in 1993, less than two years after Ayana was born. It was one of the oldest women's records on the books.
"I'm so in awe."
She again controlled much of the proceedings in the 5000m final one week later, but perhaps tiring from her titanic effort in the longer race, faded over the final lap and took the bronze. It was her only defeat in seven races this year.
She concluded her season in much the same way as she opened it: with a 5000m world record assault, this time in Brussels. She came up short, but her 14:18.89 performance was the eighth fastest ever.
Bob Ramsak for the IAAF
http://allafrica.com/stories/201612050483.html
http://www.flotrack.org/article/49025-usain-bolt-almaz-ayana-named-iaaf-world-athletes-of-the-year
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