2017 IAAF World Championships

Americans Paul Chelimo, Ryan Hill Advance To 5K Final From Dramatic Prelim

Americans Paul Chelimo, Ryan Hill Advance To 5K Final From Dramatic Prelim

Americans Paul Chelimo and Ryan Hill advance to the final, as do NCAA stars Patrick Tiernan and Justyn Knight.

Aug 9, 2017 by Johanna Gretschel
Americans Paul Chelimo, Ryan Hill Advance To 5K Final From Dramatic Prelim
Americans Paul Chelimo and Ryan Hill advanced to the IAAF World Championships men's 5K final to be held in London on Saturday night.

Hill ran 13:22.79, placing fifth in heat two to snag the last automatic qualifier, while Chelimo, the Olympic silver medalist and reigning U.S. champion, relied on a time qualifier to make the final after falling to the track with about two laps remaining. He was pushed by Bahrain's Birhanu Balew early on and gestured to his rival as if confused, then was actually pushed to the ground closer to the finish due to the tight nature and physical jostling of the pack running. 



Seventeen-year-old Selemon Barega of Ethiopia won the second section in 13:21.5.

Fellow American Eric Jenkins will not advance to the final after suffering from his own stumble in the first section. He was in solid position with 200m to go, but stumbled on the final curve as the athlete ahead of him -- Hayle Ibrahimov of Azerbajin -- suddenly slowed. Jenkins lost his form on the homestretch and was only able to achieve tenth in the heat in 13:31.09. The race was so close that Jenkins, in tenth place, was still just one second behind section winner Yomif Kejelcha of Ethiopia.

NCAA star Justyn Knight of Syracuse was a surprise automatic qualifier from the first heat, as he accelerated to the front pack just as Jenkins lost his footing and finished fourth in 13:30.27. Last year's NCAA cross country champion by way of Villanova/Australia in Patrick Tiernan also qualified for the final after finishing last in the 10K final a few days ago.


Former Arkansas star Kemoy Campbell became the first Jamaican man to advance to a long distance final at the world championships with his ninth place performance in section two, according to the IAAF. Wisconsin's Morgan McDonald, who didn't even qualify for NCAAs this year, was two spots from advancing to the final with a seventh-place run in section one.

Olympic bronze medalist Hagos Gebrhiwet of Ethiopia did not start the race as scheduled. He has raced just twice this year and is likely not fit.

Men's 5K finalists:

RANK ATHLETE COUNTRY MARK
1 Selemon Barega Ethiopia 13:21.50Q
2 Birhanu Balew Bahrain 13:21.91Q
3 Cyrus Rutto Kenya 13:22.45Q
4 Patrick Tiernan Australia 13:22.52Q
5 Ryan Hill USA 13:22.79Q
6 Mohammed Ahmed Canada 13:22.97q
7 Andrew Butchart UK 13:24.78q
8 Paul Chelimo USA 13:24.88q
9 Kemoy Campbell Jamaica 13:26.67q
10 Awet Habte Eritrea 13:27.70q
11 Yomif Kejelcha Ethiopia 13:30.07Q
12 Mohamed Farah UK 13:30.18Q
13 Muktar Edris Ethiopia 13:30.22Q
14 Justyn Knight Canada 13:30.27Q
15 Aron Kifle Eritrea 13:30.36Q