Bekele wins 5,000, completes distance double

Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia has won the 5,000 meters in an Olympic record to complete a distance double at the Beijing Games.

Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia has won the 5,000 meters in an Olympic record to complete a distance double at the Beijing Games.

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Bekele, who had already successfully defended his 10,000 title, won Saturday's 5,000-meter final in 12 minutes, 57.82 seconds. Kenyans won silver and bronze, with Eliud Kipchoge second in 13:02.80 and Edwin Cheryiyot Soi finishing third in 13:06.22. World champion Bernard Lagat of the United States finished 9th.

It was the second double here for Ethiopia after Tirunesh Dibaba won an unprecedented women's 5,000-10,000 combination. A three-time world champion at 10,000, Bekele just missed a double at the Athens 2004 Olympics when he got the 10,000 gold and finished second to Moroccan great Hicham El Guerrouj in the 5,000.