Ethiopia’s Selemon Barega won the first athletics gold of the Tokyo Olympics while in the pool there was a gold and a world record for South Africa’s Tatjana Schoenmaker.
A quick finish from Barega saw him finish ahead of Uganda’s world record hold Joshua Cheptegei, who claimed the silver.
Earlier in the athletics Ivory Coast’s Marie-Josee Ta Lou equalling the African 100m record as she qualified for Saturday’s semi-finals.
The first athletics gold of the Tokyo Olympics was won by Ethiopia’s Selemon Barega as he won the men’s 10,000m.
The 21-year-old’s fast finish was too much for the world record holder and world champion Joshua Cheptegei from Uganda, who had to settle for silver ahead of his compatriot Jacob Kiplimo in third.
In the heats of the women’s 5,000m Kenya’s Hellen Obiri, who won silver that Rio Games in 2016, finished second in her heat behind the fastest in the world this year, Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay, as both qualified for Monday’s final.
Kenyans Agnes Tirop and Lilian Kasait Rengeruk as well as Ethiopian duo Senbere Teferi and Ejgayehu Taye are also through to that final.
However disappointment for Burundi’s Francine Niyonsaba who finished fourth in her heat to claim a place in the final but was disqualified after the race for stepping off the track.
The 28-year-old had been forced to step up from her preferred 800m, in which she won silver Rio in 2016, rather than taking testosterone-reducing drugs.
Under the latest World Athletics regulations Niyonsaba is classified as having ‘Differences of Sexual Development’ – or ‘DSD’ – and so is not allowed to compete in events between 400m and a mile without taking testosterone-reducing drugs.
