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.