2011 World Championships in Athletics – Women's 5000 metres


The Women's 5000 metres at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Daegu Stadium on August 30, and September 2.
Vivian Cheruiyot entered the competition as the reigning 2009 World Champion, the 2011 World Cross Country Champion, the Diamond League leader, and the fastest woman of the year. Ethiopians Meseret Defar and Sentayehu Ejigu had run the next quickest that season. The top twelve ranked runners prior to the championships were all either Kenyan or Ethiopian; Linet Masai, Sylvia Kibet, Mercy Cherono and Genzebe Dibaba were the other contenders from the two dominant countries. Lauren Fleshman of the United States was the fastest non-African in the [|final].
The final started with Hitomi Niiya taking a large early lead in an effort to steal the race. After several laps in the spotlight she was swallowed up by the pack, which slowly disintegrated. With a lap to go, it was three Ethiopian and four Kenyan runners to settle it. Cheruiyot led as the group stretched out, with Defar challenging into the final straight, where Cheruiyot pulled away. Kibet passed a fading Defar before the finish, for the silver. Exactly the same medals as two years before.

Medalists

Records

Prior to the competition, the records were as follows:
World record14:11.15Oslo, Norway6 June 2008
Championship record14:38.59Helsinki, Finland13 August 2005
World Leading14:20.87Stockholm, Sweden29 July 2011
African Record14:11.15Oslo, Norway6 June 2008
Asian Record14:28.09Shanghai, China23 October 1997
North, Central American and Caribbean record14:44.76Brussels, Belgium27 August 2010
South American record15:18.85São Paulo, Brazil20 May 2011
European Record14:23.75Kazan, Russia19 July 2008
Oceanian record14:45.93Rome, Italy11 July 2008

Qualification standards

Schedule

Results

Heats

Qualification: First 5 in each heat and the next 5 fastest advance to the final.
RankHeatNameNationalityTimeNotes
11Meseret Defar15:19.46Q
21Mercy Cherono15:20.01Q
31Sylvia Jebiwott Kibet15:20.08Q
41Sentayehu Ejigu15:20.13Q
51Yelena Zadorozhnaya15:23.90Q
61Amy Hastings15:29.49q
71Hitomi Niiya15:31.09q
82Genzebe Dibaba15:33.06Q
92Tejitu Daba15:33.67Q
102Linet Masai15:33.99Q
112Lauren Fleshman15:34.04Q
122Vivian Cheruiyot15:34.80Q
132Zakia Mrisho15:35.37q, SB
142Yelizaveta Grechishnikova15:35.64q
151Helen Clitheroe15:37.73q
162Megumi Kinukawa15:38.23
172Alemitu Bekele Degfa15:38.25
181Kayo Sugihara15:41.78SB
192Molly Huddle15:42.00
201Alia Saeed Mohammed16:10.37
212Viktoriia Poliudina16:32.68SB
221Pauline Niyongere17:23.56SB
1Sabine Fischer

Final