Rio Preview: Women’s 10,000m Final
Friday morning is going to see the first medal race on the track in the Rio 2016 Games. This race will be the kick-off for running fans around the world. So what do viewers need to watch for? We've broken down everything from the strengths and weaknesses of the pre-race favourites and given you the story behind our Canadian runners. Here's what you need to know:
When: Friday, Aug. 12; 10:10 a.m. EDT
Who’s the favourite: Alamz Ayana (Ethiopia)
Why and how to watch:
It’s the first medal race in the track and field portion of the Rio Olympics. The 10,000m is a long event (about a 33 minute time investment), and is best watched streaming in the background making it a perfect distraction on a Friday morning. It’s best watched paired with Twitter, so you can follow all the nuances and commentary of the race. The last mile of a 10,000m is always where all the action goes down, but it’s worth keeping an eye on the race throughout, as there can be lead changes and sudden breaks, just as in a cycling race.
In Canada, CBC will stream the race for free.
What to watch for:
The track portion of the Rio Games finally gets under on Friday, and it does so with a heck of a race. Because of the length of the race, the entry times are strict and there are no qualifying rounds for the women’s 10,000m, making this a straight final.
The 10,000m is a gruelling race – 25 laps of the 400m track, and the longest running event besides, of course, the marathon. Ethiopia’s Almaz Ayana (2016 season’s best of 30:07) has been absolutely crushing the competition this year. She’s quickly become one of the best 5,000m runners of all time, but this is only her second 10,000m race of consequence. She likes to lead and because of her 5,000m speed, she could gap the rest of the field quickly. If that happens, it’s probably game over, as she has shown she has no problems running very hard all by herself.
Reigning Olympic champion Tirunesh Dibaba hopes to show that she’s still got something left. Dibaba used to dominate just as Ayana is now, and has the experience and talent to surprise in Rio. She spent 2014 mostly dabbling in the marathon (a 2:20 in London, which is one of the greatest debuts ever) and took 2015 off to have a child, so she’s flying a little under the radar heading into this race. Dibaba has a big collection of Olympic medals that show she knows how to win when it matters. She’ll want to win this race to cement her legacy and show that she isn’t through with the track just yet.
If anyone decides to go with Ayana right from the start of the race, it will probably be Kenyans Vivian Cheruiyot (PB: 30:30) and Alice Aprot. Both have the speed to challenge Ayana, and Cheruiyot is the reigning 10,000m world champ, so she knows a thing or two about championship-style racing. Just 22 years old, Aprot is young and enters the race with the second fastest time (30:26) in 2016 among those running this final. But she’s never run a major international championship track race on this level, and experience counts for a lot.
Who will win: Alamz Ayana
Along with Bolt, Farah and Semenya, Ayana is one of the sure bets at these Games.
How it will play out:
Ayana will start out with a big gap on the field, but someone will start to reel her in. It will be close, but Ayana will pull through.
The Canadian storyline:
Canadian record holder Natasha Wodak (31:41) and Canadian marathon record holder Lanni Marchant will battle each other and for position somewhere in the middle of the pack. Wodak has the better entry time and is more of a natural track runner than Marchant. But Marchant excelled in their last major head-to-head battle in a championship race, the Pan Am Games last summer in Toronto. There, Marchant executed a smart tactical race and broke away for a bronze medal, whereas Wodak never looked comfortable and faded back to a disappointing seventh in a race many thought she could win.
The caveat, and it’s a major one, is that Marchant will have a marathon on her mind while running around the track 25 times on Friday. She fought for the right to double in the events she qualified for (the 10,000m and the marathon), and will be running the 42.2K race just 46 hours after crossing the finish line in the Olympic stadium. It should be interesting to see whether or not she holds back in this race, or just goes for it.
What will be a win for Natasha Wodak:
She will want to beat Marchant and contend with some of the other sub 32:00 runners in the race, including the Americans entered. Placing in the top half of the field will be a big victory for her.
What will be a win for Lanni Marchant:
Marchant is a very good tactical runner, but lacks the top end speed to stay with a lead pack in the Olympics. She should ignore the fact that she’s running a marathon and see if she can move up in the last couple of kilometres of the race. Her motivation will be to place as top Canadian.
One more thing to watch out for:
Keep an eye out for Britain’s Jo Pavey. The 42-year-old is one of the oldest athletes in the race, but she has a season’s best time is markedly better than Wodak and Marchant’s fastest times, at 31:34. It’ll be one of the stories of the Games if she gets on the podium.
Start list
| ORDER / LANE | BIB | ATHLETE | COUNTRY | SB 2016 | PB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 344 | Eloise WELLINGS |  AUS |
31:53.44 | 31:41.31 |
| 2 | 962 | Darya MASLOVA |  KGZ |
32:14.33 | |
| 3 | 956 | Betsy SAINA |  KEN |
32:04.83 | 30:57.30 |
| 4 | 1393 | Ekaterina TUNGUSKOVA |  UZB |
32:13.08 | 32:13.08 |
| 5 | 866 | Veronica INGLESE |  ITA |
31:37.43 | 31:37.43 |
| 6 | 919 | Hanami SEKINE |  JPN |
31:22.92 | 31:22.92 |
| 7 | 1387 | Sitora HAMIDOVA | UZB |
32:12.54 | |
| 8 | 801 | Alexi PAPPAS |  GRE |
31:46.85 | 31:46.85 |
| 9 | 1176 | Salome NYIRARUKUNDO |  RWA |
31:45.82 | 31:45.82 |
| 10 | 1269 | Juliet CHEKWEL |  UGA |
31:37.99 | 31:37.99 |
| 11 | 1011 | Marisol ROMERO |  MEX |
32:13.17 | 31:46.43 |
| 12 | 1350 | Emily INFELD |  USA |
31:46.09 | 31:38.71 |
| 13 | 720 | Beth POTTER |  GBR |
32:03.45 | 32:03.45 |
| 14 | 922 | Yuka TAKASHIMA | JPN |
31:35.76 | 31:35.76 |
| 15 | 1134 | Carla Salomé ROCHA |  POR |
32:05.8 | 32:05.8 |
| 16 | 501 | Natasha WODAK |  CAN |
33:29.67 | 31:41.59 |
| 17 | 1169 | Dominique SCOTT |  RSA |
31:56.84 | 31:56.84 |
| 18 | 1044 | Jip VASTENBURG |  NED |
32:04.00 | 31:35.48 |
| 19 | 1068 | Karoline Bjerkeli GRØVDAL |  NOR |
31:23.45 | 31:23.45 |
| 20 | 642 | Gelete BURKA |  ETH |
30:28.47 | 30:28.47 |
| 21 | 717 | Joanne PAVEY | GBR |
31:34.61 | 30:53.20 |
| 22 | 1257 | Yasemin CAN |  TUR |
31:12.86 | 31:12.86 |
| 23 | 371 | Diane NUKURI |  BDI |
31:57.99 | 31:57.99 |
| 24 | 1267 | Alia Saeed MOHAMMED |  UAE |
31:10.25 | 31:10.25 |
| 25 | 694 | Jess ANDREWS | GBR |
31:38.02 | 31:38.02 |
| 26 | 1346 | Marielle HALL | USA |
31:37.45 | 31:37.45 |
| 27 | 645 | Tirunesh DIBABA | ETH |
30:28.53 | 29:54.66 |
| 28 | 1227 | Sarah LAHTI |  SWE |
31:54.87 | 31:54.87 |
| 29 | 1008 | Brenda FLORES | MEX |
32:45.65 | 31:45.16 |
| 30 | 946 | Vivian Jepkemoi CHERUIYOT | KEN |
31:36.37 | 30:30.44 |
| 31 | 641 | Almaz AYANA | ETH |
30:07.00 | 30:07.00 |
| 32 | 482 | Lanni MARCHANT | CAN |
32:10.00 | 31:46.94 |
| 33 | 418 | Tatiele Roberta DE CARVALHO |  BRA |
32:09.14 | 32:09.14 |
| 34 | 953 | Alice Aprot NAWOWUNA | KEN |
30:26.94 | 30:26.94 |
| 35 | 1036 | Susan KUIJKEN | NED |
31:31.97 | |
| 36 | 1349 | Molly HUDDLE | USA |
31:41.62 | 30:47.59 |
| 37 | 622 | Trihas GEBRE |  ESP |
32:14.25 | 32:03.39 |
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