Whenever Ethiopia’s athletes rounded the turn at Hayward Field in Eugene, fans rose to their feet and began to wave the country’s flag, cheering them on.
In the end, Letesenbet Gidey of Ethiopia won gold in a tight 10,000 meters on Saturday at the World Athletics Championships. Her time of 30 minutes, 9.94 seconds was just ahead of Kenya’s Hellen Obiri in second place with a time of 30:10.02.
Letesenbet initially fell to her knees after crossing the finish line before rising to find Ejgayehu Taye, her teammate with Ethiopia who finished in sixth place with a time of 30:12.45. Lowering herself, Letsenbet helped Ejgayehu get to her feet.
Already the world-record holder in the women’s 10,000 meters, Letesenbet previously won silver at the 2019 World Athletics Championships.
Karissa Schweizer of Bowerman Track Club competed with Team USA and took ninth place with a time of 30:18.05