The Kenyan sprinted clear of the leading pack on the final lap to cross the line in 30 minutes 37.61 seconds and complete the first leg of what she hopes will be a 5,000m-10,000m double in Tokyo to match her feat at last year’s Paris Olympics.
“It was a tough, very tactical race but I ran the last 800m really hard… my mind was like I was in a 1500m race,” Chebet said.
“I had to push and follow, and motivate myself but I wanted that gold medal so much. I have never won a gold at the world championships so I was sure I had to get it.”
On the field, Ryan Crouser completed an incredible world championship shot put hat-trick to match his three Olympic golds on Saturday when, having not thrown once all year before the morning heats, the American somehow found a 22.34-metre effort to take gold in the men’s shot put.
As well as Crouser’s mind-blowing win, Mexico’s Uziel Munoz produced a national record of 21.97 with his final throw to take a shock silver medal.
That meant that Italy’s Leonardo Fabbri took bronze after he and New Zealand’s Tom Walsh both threw 21.94.
Fabbri had a better second throw and Walsh, the 2017 champion, missed out on another medal after previously pocketing two bronzes.
Lui Lai-yiu is Hong Kong’s sole athlete at the championships, and will compete in the women’s 100 metres hurdles on Sunday. (Reuters)
