Ethiopian Bekele set an Olympic record

Kenenisa Bekele was crowned Olympic 10,000m champion after a blistering burst of speed destroyed his rivals. Bekele, the world record holder, ran 53.02 seconds for the last 400m to win in 27 minutes 5.11secs. Bekele's Ethiopian team-mate Sileshi Sihine took silver, with the bronze going to Eritrea's Zersenay Tadesse.

Double Olympic champion Haile Gebrselassie ended his wonderful track career in disappointment, limping home fifth after a difficult race. In a race of fluctuating pace, the three Ethiopians went to the front with 12 laps to go but struggled to shake off Tadesse and Uganda's Boniface Kiprop, informs BBC News.

World champion and world record holder Bekele, Gebrselassie and Sihine celebrated the result of the first track final at the Athens Olympic Stadium with a joint lap of honour, their nation's flag featuring prominently.

Gebrselassie, who nearly pulled out of the Games with an Achilles injury, refused to be down about his defeat. "It was not so good at the end, I could not push. But I am so happy with the result of what I did tonight," he said, admitting the pain over the fnial few laps was hard to take, reports Fox Sports.

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