Finally, the running world got to see a fast men’s 5,000m race this season in the Diamond League. 

 

Without double World champion Mo Farah, aka the most feared distance runner on the planet, the reigns were taken off the usual tactical pace and the guys really got after it on Friday in Brussels.

 

The hot pace throughout left just Ethiopians Yomif Kejelcha and Hagos Gebrhiwet to battle over the final 200m for the win and the overall Diamond Race title, and ultimately it was the teenager Kejelcha who had the last gear, running a world-leading 12:53.98 to take the $40K prize. 

 

Here’s how it went down: 

 

The pace was hot from the gun, as an eager Galen Rupp asserted himself near the front to chase Bernard Lagat’s 12:53.60 American record. Rupp followed the pacers through 1K in 2:35 and 2K in 5:11, just off record tempo. The American stuck up near the lead while the favorites, namely Kejelcha, Kenyan Caleb Ndiku and Gebrhiwet held back off the hot pace.

 

By the time the race reached 3,000m in 7:47, however, Rupp was falling off the tempo as Gebrhiwet broke the race open with a 60 second lap with four to go. The race was on at this point, with only Thomas Longosiwa, Kejelcha, Ndiku, and Abdalaati Iguider left to challenge Gebrhiwet. Rupp had fallen back to the chase pack with Ben True with less than a mile to go, as True moved up steadily throughout the race. 

 

The pace would slow from 3400m to 3800m, as Gebrhiwet clearly wanted nothing to do with leading. 2015 1500 bronze medalist Iguider went to the front as the pack split 62.91, with all five preparing themselves for a big kick. Remember, the Diamond Race was wide open entering tonight, as no man had more than 6 points ahead of Brussels. These five were fighting for $40K, so the slow down was expected once this pack had broken away. 

 

After the five hit 4K in 10:22 with another 2:35 kilometer, Iguider opened up a slight lead over Kejelcha less than 100m later as the mid-distance stud tried to inject some life into a pace that had slipped to 63.28 with two to go. Ndiku, the silver medalist in Beijing, seemed to fall off with 800 to go, but then rallied heading into the bell as the men slowed once again, this time to a 64.04 lap.

 

At the bell in 11:58, the men readied themselves for a big kick as all five were stride for stride. Behind them in the distant chase pack, True was moving hard some 40m back, despite having zero chance to catch up to the leaders. 

 

Iguider and Kejelcha were shoulder-to-shoulder with 300m to go with Gebrhiwet and Longosiwa close behind as Ndiku finally started to fall off the pace permanently. With just 200m to go, Kejelcha made the first drive for home, leaving Iguider and Longosiwa in his wake as Gebrhiwet sped up to challenge his countryman.

 

The final sprint for home would be won by the 18-year-old Kejelcha, who first burst on the scene this season with his victory at the Pre Classic. Kejelcha, who was beaten out for a medal in Beijing by Gebrhiwet, got his revenge tonight by out-kicking his fellow Ethiopian in 12:53.98, with the 21-year-old Gebrhiwet 2nd in 12:54.70. Both times dipped under Kejelcha’s previous world-lead of 12:58.39 from Rome in June. 

 

Iguider and Longosiwa managed to hang on just enough to dip under 13, with the Moroccan 3rd in a 12:59.25 PR and the Kenyan 4th in 12:59.72. Ndiku struggled to the line in 13:05.30.

 

Ethiopian Yenew Alamirew and Ben True fought to the finish, with Alamirew just nipping the American at the line, 13:05.53 to 13:05.54. The time is True’s second-fastest of his career, behind only his 13:02.74 from Payton Jordan 2014. 

 

Kicking hard to run a huge PR was True’s fellow American Ryan Hill, who finished 8th in 13:05.69. The 25-year-old Hill ran a brilliant second half of the race to lower his personal best by nine seconds, and his time makes him the 11th fastest American in 5,000m history. 

 

Rupp would pay for his early aggressive strategy, as he would struggle home to a 13:08.38 10th place finish. Canadian Mo Ahmed ran 13:10.00 to establish a new national record and lower his PR by more than eight seconds.