Tirunesh Dibaba satisfied with bronze at Rio 2016

Omnisports

August 12, 2016 5:40 AM

Tirunesh Dibaba says the bronze medal she won in the 10,000 metres at Rio 2016 was worth the pain of having to leave her young son behind during training.

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The Ethiopian was triumphant over the distance at the two previous Games, but was denied a third consecutive title by the stunning run of compatriot Almaz Ayana.

Ayana stormed away from the field to cross the line in 29:17.45, smashing the 23-year-old world record by over 14 seconds.

Although it was Ayana who stole the headlines, with Kenya's Vivian Cheruiyot claiming silver, Dibaba was satisfied with her performance after everything she had given up in preparation, following the birth of her son 18 months ago.

"I [still] did something that no one ever has done before and I'm very proud of that," she said.

"Every time that I would go to training, my son would be crying so I have always had that in the back of my head for training purposes.

"Winning this made all of that worth it. So it was a sacrifice that paid off."

Cheruiyot, meanwhile, remains optimistic that at some stage it will be she who stands atop the podium.

"One day, one time, I know that I'm going to be an Olympic champion," she said.

"The time is very quick. Maybe those trying to beat it will be the coming athletes [of the future].

"I'm happy because of my time. I don't have any regrets because I did a personal best."

Omnisports

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