LONDON, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Olympic champion Almaz Ayana claimed the title of women's 10000m at the IAAF World Championships here on Saturday.
The Ethiopian runner clinched the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Rio last year with a new world record. She built her lead midway through the race and kept it until the finishing line, clocking a season's world leading time of 30 minutes and 16.32 seconds.
"I am very happy to win this title, much more than when I won the Olympic gold because I have been sick this year and didn't expect it," Ayana commented on her victory in another world major event.
Her Ethiopian compatriot Tirunesh Dibaba finished runner-up with 31 minutes and 2.69 seconds. Kenyan Agnes Jebet Tirop ranked third with 31:03.50.
"I have won many gold medals before but since I became a marathon runner, I only returned to the track for this race," said Dibaba. "It was a very fast race. I knew that Almaz was going to run very fast, so if I had followed her, I wouldn't have won a medal." Enditem
