Women's 10,000m record smashed by almost 14 seconds as Almaz takes gold

The Ethiopian never looked likely to be caught when she went chasing the first track and field medal of the Games.

Rio Olympics Athletics David J. Phillip David J. Phillip

ETHIOPIA’S ALMAZ AYANA smashed one of the longest-held records in athletics today to win the first gold of the Olympic track and field competition, the women’s 10,000 metres.

The 24-year-old pulled away from the field midway through the race and never let up before powering home in 29min 17.45sec.

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Her winning time was nearly 14 seconds faster than the previous best over the distance, 29:31.78, set by Wang Junxia in Beijing in 1993.

Vivian Cheruiyot of Kenya took silver while defending champion Tirunesh Dibaba took bronze.

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