Oslo: Bekele and Defar take 5,000, Mekonnen Dream Miler

Neither the men's or women's 5000s at Oslo's Bislett Games turned out to be as fast as organizers (and fans) hoped, but the two Ethiopian winners distinguished themselves with strong finishes against very deep fields.
Bekele covered his last 400 in 53.3 to triumph in 13:04.87, with James Kwalia C'Kururi of Qatar second in 13:05.46. Mo Farah of Britain, who was hoping to break David Moorcroft's British record of 13:00.41, was near the lead at the 4000-meter mark but faded to 11th in 13:12.28.

Defar prevailed in 14:36.38, outkicking Vivian Cheruiyot of Kenya (14:37.01) and Meselech Melkamu (14:37.50) in a race in which 15 women (eight Ethiopians, six Kenyans, and a Portuguese) broke 15:00.






Deresse Mekonnen of Ethiopia took the Dream Mile in 3:48.95, with Kenya's William Biwott Tanui second in 3:49.29.
Ruth Bisibori Nyangau won the women's 3000-meter steeplechase in 9:18.65.
The leader in the men's 800 ran the first lap in 49.4, but as he often does, Russia's Yuri Borzakovskiy charged from well behind in the homestretch to take first in 1:44.41. Sudan's Abubaker Kaki well to the track early in that race, apparently with a hamstring ailment.