KENENISA Bekele became the first man to complete the Olympic long-distance double for 28 years when he romped to the 5,000m title on the final evening of athletics competition at the Bird's Nest yesterday. There was more east African success on the track when Kenyan Wilfred Bungei took gold in the men's 800m and compatriot Nancy Jebet Langat claimed the women's 1,500m. Norway's Andreas Thorkildsen retained his javelin crown but there was a shock in the high jump were Blanka Vlasic, unbeaten all season, lost out to Belgium's Tia Hellebaut. The United States, who suffered double disaster in the sprint relay heats, roared back in the 4x400m with a thrilling win in the women's race and dominant victory in the men's, the traditional finale of the session. Bekele, who retained his 10,000m title on Sunday, wanted to go one better than his silver of four years ago and, as world record holder, started hot favourite to emulate the double of his compatriot Tirunesh Dibaba in the women's long-dist...
Originally from: http://thestar.com.my/sports/story.asp?file=/2008/8/24/olympics/22162146&sec=Olympics |