Ethiopia’s Beyenu Degefa captured the women’s 3000m title, the first gold medal for her country, on day 2 of the IAAF World U20 Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland on Wednesday.
Beyenu Degefa covered the final 200m in 30 seconds flat – en route to an 8:41.76 run, taking down in the process the 8:46.86 championship record held by China’s Zhang Linli since 1992.
The 17-year-old victory was only the second in the event for Ethiopia after Meseret Defar’s triumph in 2002.
World U20 leader Dalila Abdulkadir Gosa of Bahrain held on for second in 8:46.42 while European junior cross-country champion Konstanze Klosterhalfen from Germany settled for the bronze, clocking 8:46.74, a national U20 record.
Ethiopia’s Foyten Tesfay was fourth in a career best of 8:47.46 ahead of Kenyans Sandrafelis Chebet Tuel and Sheila Chelangat in fifth and sixth in 8:55.77 and 8:59.89 respectively.
This mark the first time in 14 years that Kenya didn’t win a medal in this event.
Tweet of the day:
RECORD ALERT: #Ethiopia‘s Beyenu Degefa shaved almost a minute of her PB to win women’s 3000m Gold in a CR 8:41.76. pic.twitter.com/1vfiLPIzGv
— Athletics Africa (@athleticsafrica) July 20, 2016
Additional information: IAAF