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Weekend road races put on a show

Leonard Komon wins the Berlin Half-Marathon

The Carlsbad 5000m, deemed the fastest 5K road race in the world, did not disappoint over the weekend.

For the fourth straight year, Ethiopian Dejan Gebremeskel won the race, outkicking American Bernard Lagat in the final stages of the race. Gebremeskel won the race in 13:13 to Lagat’s 13:18, but the American still managed to take down Marc Davis’ American record from 1996.


Gebremeskel surged with 1K to go , unsuccessfully trying to shake Lagat. He surged again with only about 500m before the finish, breaking away and putting five seconds between them in the final stages of the race.

“I went in with the mindset to have fun, stay relaxed as much as possible,” said Lagat. “Dejen was right there pushing the first mile, and at halfway I couldn’t even see him, but he was right behind us. He was basically taking a breather at the back. He was waiting. And when he took the turn, he just unleashed it, so experience matters a lot on this course.”

The two clashed only three weeks again at the world indoor 3000m championship in Sopot, Poland, where Lagat finished second, ahead of Gebremeskel.


Julia Bleasdale of Great Britain won the women’s race in an impressive 15:06 with a healthy lead over Kenya’s Betsy Saina who ran 15:22 and Ethiopia’s Etalemhu Habtewold in 15:23.

“I haven’t raced in four months so it was good to get back on the racing scene,” said Bleasdale

Across the ocean at the Berlin Half-Marathon another fast race was awing spectators as a high calibre field witnessed the fastest half-marathon debut ever.

26-year-old Leonard Komon of Kenya narrowly edged compatriot Abraham Cheroben at the finish line. Both ran 59:14. Komon’s time is the fastest ever for someone running their first half-marathon.

Tadelech Bekele, a 22-year-old Kenyan, won the women’s race in 1:10:05. Agnes Mutune, also of Kenya, finished second, running 1:10:30.

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