Ethiopia’s Gidey breaks Hassan's two-day-old 10,000m world record

March 30, 2019 Kenya's Hellen Obiri poses with the winners medal after winning the women's race with second placed Ethiopia's Dera Dida and third placed Letesenbet Gidey [REUTERS]

Ethiopia's Letesenbet Gidey smashed the women's 10,000 metres world record on Tuesday, on the same track where Dutch runner Sifan Hassan had set the previous record just two days previously.

Gidey's time of 29 minutes 1.03sec at Ethiopia's Olympic trials held in Hengelo in the Netherlands means she now holds the world records in the 5,000m and 10,000m.

Aided by the Wavelight technology that paces runners, she sliced a remarkable 1min 20.2sec off her previous best for 10,000m of 30:21.23, set at the World Championships in Doha in 2019.

Gidey, 23, finished more than a minute ahead of Tsigie Gebreselama and improved Hassan's two-day-old mark by five seconds.

WORLD RECORD!

Letesenbet Gidey breaks Sifan Hassan's two-day-old 10,000m world record with 29:01.03. pic.twitter.com/DJIxauju2L — World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) June 8, 2021

Ababel Yeshaneh tracked Gidey for most of the way as they followed the blue lights around the track infield.

Yeshaneh dropped off the pace as the race wore on, but Gidey continued her metronomic pace, producing one 72-second lap after another.

In the final lap, Gidey navigated lapped runners to sprint home and stop the clock at 29:01.03.

WORLD RECORD@SifanHassan breaks the women's 10,000m world record with 29:06.82 at the @ContiTourGold.

She beats the previous record by over 10 seconds.#ContinentalTourGold pic.twitter.com/pH7E2gK7f4 — World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) June 6, 2021

"I expected to run a world record," said Gidey.

"I’d like to try to break the world record again and break 29 minutes."

She becomes the first woman to hold the 5,000m and 10,000m world records simultaneously since Norway's Ingrid Kristiansen did so from 1986-1993.