It was a head-to-head battle that many may have predicted, but the closing drama came as a shock.
Gudaf Tsegay and Sifan Hassan – shoulder to shoulder with their arms pumping and their eyes fixed on the finish – both chasing 10,000m gold in a thrilling first track final of the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23.
Two of the fastest ever women over 25 laps of the track, locked in a fierce fight. Until suddenly, they weren’t. Just metres from the finish line, after both had used their 1500m speed to superb effect over the final lap, Hassan fell – the Olympic champion’s dreams of another global medal treble going crashing down with her.
As Hassan stumbled, Tsegay remained resolute. The world 5000m champion from Oregon last year gritted her teeth and ended up adding a maiden 10,000m title to her burgeoning global medal haul, clocking 31:27.18 to lead an Ethiopian medal sweep ahead of world record-holder and defending champion Letesenbet Gidey, and world indoor medallist Ejgayehu Taye.