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Uganda's Joshua Cheptegei claimed Olympics gold in 10,000m after unleashing a devastating finishing kick to shock Ethiopian runners who had planned to lock the rest out of the podium.
Ethiopian runners saw their gameplan collapse as Ugandan Joshua Cheptegei won a gold medal in 10,000m at the Paris Olympics on Friday.
Ethiopian runners, led by Olympic champion Selemon Barega, Yomif Kejelcha and Berihu Aregawi, started quickly with the former taking off in the second lap and they would exchange leads in a bid to burn out their rivals.
However, they did not succeed when it mattered most as Chepetegei unleashed a great finishing kick to claim an Olympics gold to add onto his world title.
The Ugandan had stayed close to the Ethiopian trio and took off in the final 400m to win the race in a new Olympics record of 26:43.14.
Aregawi was the best placed Ethiopian in second place after clocking 26.43.44. He had to do it the hard way after sprinting to the finish line in the final 100m.
American Grant Fisher completed the podium in 26.43.46 to the disappointment of Kejelcha and Berega who could only manage sixth and seventh places respectively.
Bernard Kibet was the best placed Kenyan in fifth place as Daniel Mateiko (11th) and Nicholas Kipkorir (14th) faded off.
It was a fast race that had seen the Ethiopians spilt the field but ended up on the losing end after spending most of their energy in the early stages of the race.
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