NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 3 – Hellen Obiri underscored her prowess as the best 5,000m athlete in the world, wowing the crowd with a decent performance to win the 12-and-a-half lap race at the Kip Keino Classic on Saturday afternoon.
Obiri showed her superb final kick to outdo Agnes Tirop in the final lap, stopping the clock at 15:06.36 with Tirop second in a time of 15:06.71.
“Finishing the season at home is something amazing for me and getting to win infront of these amazing people is a plus for me. I am pleased with how I competed today though it wasn’t an easy race. After how the season has been, I can say I am truly grateful for finishing with a win,” Obiri stated after the race.
It wasn’t until two laps to go that Obiri showed her attacking nature. Throughout the opening 10 laps, she was comfortably sat second in the leading pack of five that had Tirop, Margaret Kipkemboi and Ethiopian Gebreselama Tsigie.
At the bell, it was clearly a two horse race, a contest between Obiri and Tirop. It was Obiri who would come out with the last laugh, picking up the pace with 300m to go and showing Tirop a clean pair of heels.
Despite a last minute surge by Tirop to catch up, Obiri was too much to handle.
