2017 IAAF World Championships

Historic 5K,10K Races On Deck At IAAF World Championships

Historic 5K,10K Races On Deck At IAAF World Championships

Learn about the top storylines for the women's 5K and 10K at the IAAF World Championships in the event preview.

Aug 2, 2017 by Taylor Dutch
Historic 5K,10K Races On Deck At IAAF World Championships
Learn about the top storylines for the women's 5K and 10K at the IAAF World Championships -- which starts Friday in London -- in the event preview. 

Women's 5,000m

When: 
August 10, 12:30 PM CT (heats)
August 13, 1:35 PM CT (final)

Top International Contenders: Hellen Obiri (Kenya), Genzebe Dibaba (Ethiopia), Almaz Ayana (Ethiopia), Senbere Teferi (Ethiopia), Letesenbet Gidey (Ethiopia), Yasemin Can (Turkey), Sifan Hassan (Netherlands)

Team USA: Molly Huddle, Shelby Houlihan, Shannon Rowbury

2016 Olympic 5K Final: 

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Place Athlete Country Time Back in 2017?
1 Vivian Cheruiyot KEN 14:26.17 NO
2 Hellen Obiri KEN 14:29.77 YES
3 Almaz Ayana ETH 14:33.59 YES
4 Mercy Cherono KEN 14:42.89 NO
5 Senbere Teferi ETH 14:43.75 YES
6 Yasemin Can TUR 14:56.96 YES
7 Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal NOR 14:57.53 YES
8 Susan Krumins NED 15:00.69 YES
9 Eloise Wellings AUS 15:01.59 YES

Analysis: 
The women's 5K will not include defending Olympic champion and marathoner Vivian Cheruiyot, but the void has been filled by Olympic silver medalist Hellen Obiri who is assuming the role of world leader this year. In 2016, Obiri wasn't quite strong enough to out-pace Cheruiyot in the Olympic final, but the Kenyan has grown tremendously as an athlete in the year following Rio. 

Obiri established two of the fastest 5K marks run in the world this year. The first took place at the May Shanghai Diamond League meet (14:22), and she improved on the mark with a dominant 14:18 victory at the Rome Diamond League meeting in June. The Rome performance broke the six-year-old Kenyan national record (14:20) set by Cheruiyot in 2011. The time was also the fifth fastest ever in the women's 5K. The only women who have run faster than Obiri are Olympic champions Tirunesh Dibaba, Almaz Ayana, Meseret Defar, and world champion Genzebe Dibaba. 

Obiri joined an exclusive all-time group, and she didn't even need any competitors around her to accomplish the feat. The closest runner to Obiri was cross country world champion Agnes Tirop who finished a distant second in 14:33.09. Letesenbet Gidey was on her heels in 14:33.32, Yasemin Can was fourth in 14:36, Etenesh Diro was fifth in 14:40, and 1500m world champion Genzebe Dibaba faded to sixth in 14:41. 



Dibaba wasn't on her game in Rome, but she did establish a season's best of 14:25 to win the Prefontaine Classic in May, which ranks No. 2 in the world. The question remaining with Dibaba is whether she'll choose to run the 1500/5K double in London. She is entered in both, and has completed the double before at the 2015 World Championships, where she won the 1500m and finished third in the 5K. But regardless of her experience, that double is a tall order and it would be incredibly tough to capture gold coming off of three rounds of the 1500m, but a podium spot is definitely within reach for her. 

Ethiopia added some mystery to its distance roster with the addition of Almaz Ayana. The Olympic champion and 10K world record holder missed the Ethiopian Trials and hasn't competed in a race since the summer of 2016, but she is entered in the 5K and 10K in London. She was injured in the early spring, but is reportedly healthy and has been training well.

On paper, Ayana is an obvious choice for this team after winning the 2015 world 5K title and earning Olympic bronze in the event days after breaking the 10K world record last summer. But because she hasn't raced in almost a year, it's hard to say how she will fare in London. 

Two more Ethiopian challengers are Senberi Teferi and Gidey. Teferi owns two world championship silver medals and was fifth at the Olympic Games. Gidey became the second-fastest U20 athlete in history when she ran 14:33 at the Rome Diamond League meeting. 

Team USA will be represented by one of the strongest contingents in history. Former American record-holder Molly Huddle, current American record-holder Shannon Rowbury, and Shelby Houlihan -- the rising star that beat both athletes at the USATF Outdoor Championships -- are all donning the red, white, and blue. 

nullHoulihan's USAs performance was a thrilling takedown of the best 5K runners in U.S. history. The Olympic finalist unleashed her signature kick to beat Rowbury and Huddle down the homestretch and do what few American athletes have ever done. 

Rowbury hasn't competed in the 5K at an international championship since 2013 when she finished seventh in Moscow, but she showed that she's in the best 5K shape of her life last summer when she broke Huddle's American record. After finishing a narrow fourth in the Olympic 1500m final, Rowbury returned to competition at the Brussels Diamond League meet and ran 14:38.92. 

Huddle will compete in the 5K as one half of her 5K/10K double in London. Depending on the pace, her chances of medaling are stronger in the 10K, but the former 5K record-holder is always a force in every major championship.

Women's 10,000m

When: August 5, 2:10 PM CT (10K final)

Top International Contenders: Almaz Ayana (Ethiopia), Tirunesh Dibaba (Ethiopia), Senbere Tefere (Ethiopia), Irene Cheptai (Kenya), Agnes Tirop (Kenya), Alice Aprot (Kenya)

Team USA: Molly Huddle, Emily Infeld, Emily Sisson

2016 Olympic 10K Final: 

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Place Athlete Country Time Back in 2017?
1 Almaz Ayana ETH 29:17.45 YES
2 Vivian Cheruiyot KEN 29:32.53 NO
3 Tirunesh Dibaba ETH 29:42.56 YES
4 Alice Nawowuna KEN 29:53.51 YES
5 Betsy Saina KEN 30:07.78 NO
6 Molly Huddle USA 30:13.17 YES
7 Yasemin Can TUR 30:26.41 YES
8 Gelete Burka ETH 30:26.66 NO
9 Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal NOR 31:14.07 YES, but in 5K
10 Eloise Wellings AUS 31:14.94 YES

Analysis:
As we mentioned in the 5K preview, Ayana is entered in both distance races, but the 10K is her signature race. Since she hasn't competed in almost a year -- so we don't know what kind of shape she's in -- but Ayana asserted herself last summer as the fastest woman in history to contest the 10K. No matter the circumstance, Ayana should not be counted out of winning contention. 

In the Olympic final, Ayana completely decimated the field and the long-standing world record with a victory in 29:17, a full 15 seconds ahead of silver medalist Vivian Cheruiyot. The performance broke Wang Junxia's previous record of 29:31 set in 1993. The race was also her second 10K ever after making her debut at the Ethiopian Olympic Trials earlier that summer. 

nullIf Ayana returns in shape, she will have three-time Olympic champion Tirunesh Dibaba as her greatest opponent. Dibaba hasn't competed on the track yet in 2017, but she did establish an Ethiopian national record in the marathon. In just her second marathon of her career, Dibaba ran 2:17:56 to finish second at the London Marathon in April. The breakthrough race makes Dibaba the third-fastest female marathoner of all time, behind world record holder Paula Radcliffe and half marathon world champion Mary Keitany. 

Last summer, Dibaba earned bronze in the 10K at the Olympic Games with a personal best of 29:42. And with Olympic silver medalist Vivian Cheruiyot focusing on the marathon now, London is poised to be a showdown between champions Ayana and Dibaba. 

Dibaba's Ethiopian teammate Senbere Teferi has also proven herself as a contender to watch after running the No. 2 time in the world this year. At the Ethiopian Trials in June -- her second 10K ever -- Teferi ran 30:41, one second shy of the mark she set in her debut in 2016. She is also entered to contest the 5K, but may have a better shot at getting on the podium in the 10K since it will take place five days before the first round of the 5K. 

On paper, it seems that Team Ethiopia could sweep the medal stand, but the Kenyans have challengers who could threaten their chances. Irene Cheptai emerged this year as a champion when she dominated the World Cross Country Championships in Kampala, Uganda. 2015 World Cross Country Champion Agnes Tirop is in the middle of a breakthrough season. She recently set personal bests of 14:33 in the  5K and 31:56 in the 10K. Alice Nawowuna will presumably be out for redemption after finishing a narrow fourth place in the 10K at the 2016 Olympic Games. She hasn't competed in any Diamond League races this year, but she set a 10K season's best of 31:50 at the Kenyan national championships. 

On the American side, Huddle will compete in the first event of her distance double. The race follows some dominant execution at the USATF Outdoor Championships where she won in a season's best of 31:19 and followed the performance by making the 5K team as well. She was followed by world bronze medalist Emily Infeld, and Huddle's training partner Emily Sisson who secured the third and final spot. 

For Huddle, this year's world championship 10K follows a transformative 2016. She broke the American record in the 10K when she ran 30:13 to finish sixth in the Olympic final, and followed the performance three months later with a third-place finish in the New York City Marathon, her debut in the distance. 2017 could finally be the year Huddle earns a spot on that podium. 

nullAfter suffering from injury for several years, Infeld emerged as a medalist in 2015 when she edged out Huddle for a bronze at the world championships in Beijing. Since 2015, Infeld has remained on top with an 11th-place finish at the 2016 Games and several personal bests. Her 31:22 finish at USAs was a PR and she recently ran a blazing fast 14:56 5K PR in Heusden. 

Since graduating from Providence as a two-time NCAA champion in 2015, Sisson has already made her mark on the professional scene. London marks her first senior world championship team and she made the team with a new 31:25 personal best. Since USAs, Sisosn has raced once -- a 15:10 outdoor 5K personal best, which indicates necessary speed for the world championship final.