Edris, Barega sealed Ethiopia Gold and Silver in 5000m
Muktar Edris (ETH) – gold
On his plans for the championships:
“After I won the World Championships 2017, I was sick for two years. I’m just happy with this result and with my comeback on the top of the podium. My plan was just to support the Ethiopian team, not to win, because I couldn’t prepare for the Worlds for two years due to the injury. After the 2km of the race I tried to do my best have been running with everything I had to win this race.”
On the reason to gesture and to celebrate in Mo Farah style:
“It meant that I want to match his results. I copied his gesture and I used it because it’s the first letter of his name as well as mine. Telahun [Bekele] also gestured like the letter “T” because it the first letter of his name.
On his hopes for Tokyo:
“If we’re healthy, we will do the Tokyo Olympics in the same style as today’s final and we will do our job in a team spirit. Here I worked hard for my team especially for Solomon, because we did a lot together. Also, I worked for Telahun to be successful in their race. Firstly, we all are looking to get the national team for Tokyo and do our best there.”
Selemon Barega (EHT) – silver
On the tactics during the race:
“We have discussed how to do our best before the race and it worked. We planned to win the gold for our country and we fulfilled it”.
Mohammed Ahmed (CAN) – bronze
On his preparation for the Championships:
“The preparation was very high. Honestly, I thought I was in sub 12:50 shape this year. I managed to run sub 13 minutes in Rome. That was like getting a monkey off my back. Then over the last 1,5 months, I felt like I got myself into sub 12:50 shape. When these guys ran 12:43-45 last year in Brussels it was sort of shattered and I knew I had to step up my game.”
On how the race was going:
“When the preparation I did, I was sure I was in that kind of shape. Today, these guys made it a real distance race. I am grateful for what they did and gave me a better opportunity to get a medal. With two laps to go, I took the lead. Those guys were clipping me but I was able to get on the podium. I told myself to be brave, be bold and give yourself an opportunity to fight really hard. The expectation was to take the medal, as I always finished 5th or 7th competing with these guys.”
On his race tactics:
“The plan was to make a bid and move up front and not be afraid. With 4-5 laps to go, the pace started to slow down a bit. The lead runners were jostling for position and I took the rail that took them by surprise. This is the move and I really almost went down but that is distance racing. To move into bronze with 50m to go, that was big. Third is as good as first. So, this is a stepping stone, a big milestone for Canadian distance running. I am glad to do that and hopefully grow off this and keep fighting with this guys for higher medals.”
| POS | BIB | ATHLETE | COUNTRY | MARK |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 700 | Muktar EDRIS |  ETH |
12:58.85 SB |
| 2 | 695 | Selemon BAREGA | ETH |
12:59.70 |
| 3 | 394 | Mohammed AHMED |  CAN |
13:01.11 |
| 4 | 696 | Telahun Haile BEKELE | ETH |
13:02.29 |
| 5 | 1486 | Jakob INGEBRIGTSEN |  NOR |
13:02.93 |
| 6 | 1290 | Jacob KROP |  KEN |
13:03.08 PB |
| 7 | 1873 | Paul CHELIMO |  USA |
13:04.60 SB |
| 8 | 1280 | Nicholas Kipkorir KIMELI | KEN |
13:05.27 |
| 9 | 361 | Birhanu BALEW |  BRN |
13:14.66 |
| 10 | 407 | Justyn KNIGHT | CAN |
13:26.63 |
| 11 | 1918 | Hassan MEAD | USA |
13:27.05 |
| 12 | 170 | Stewart MCSWEYN |  AUS |
13:30.41 |
| 13 | 1485 | Henrik INGEBRIGTSEN | NOR |
13:36.25 |
| 14 | 250 | Isaac KIMELI |  BEL |
13:44.29 |
