TOKYO (Reuters) – Selemon Barega of Ethiopia won the men’s 10,000 metres gold medal, the first of the Olympic athletics programme, on Friday, defeating world champion and world record holder Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda.
Cheptegei’s compatriot Jacob Kiplimo took bronze.
The 21-year old Barega’s victory was secured on the last lap as he sprinted to the finish line to secure a shock win.
The Ethiopian delegation at the Olympic stadium applauded him as he smiled broadly and ran a victory lap with his country’s flag draped around his shoulders.
(Reporting by Mitch Phillips and Omar Mohammed, editing by Ed Osmond)
