Namibia’s Francine Niyonsaba defeated Olympic silver medallist Hellen Obiri from Kenya at the finals of the Wanda Diamond League that was held on Wednesday at the Zurich Diamond League.
Niyonsaba outkicked Obiri over the final 560m lap around to cut the tape in 14:28.98.
For the third time in two weeks Niyonsaba outkicked Kenya’s Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Hellen Obiri to take the honours on a curtain-raiser evening before Thursday’s main event that features a galaxy of stars.
“I love challenges. I have a lot of resilience and determination,” Niyonsaba said. “I stayed behind most of the race, this was my tactic. I am still learning after switching from 800m.”
Niyonsaba time of 14:28.98 will not be recognised as official because the race was run on a temporary, four-laned 560 metre, banked track in the city centre.
“It was a new experience, we did not know where we can start to kick and accelerate,” Obiri said.
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