The 2017 World 800m silver medallist Champion, Francine Niyonsaba was on more fire as she defeated two-time Olympic silver medallist Hellen Obiri from kenya at at the Allianz Memorial Van Damme in the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels, Belgium.
Niyonsaba continued her successful reinvention as a long-distance runner with a new Burundian national record of 14:25.34, almost 30 seconds inside her previous personal best, to win the 5000m.
The Rio 2016 800m silver medallist switched to longer distances after being found to have elevated testosterone levels, and she produced a devastating sprint finish to win the race and forcing Ethiopia’s Elgayehu Taye to settle in second place in 14:25.63 with two-time world champion, Obiri coming home third in a season best of 14:26.23.
“It was fantastic to run here. I enjoyed every second of it and the national record is the cherry on top. To be able to run for a crowd was funny. It really helped me,” said Niyonsaba.
“I still do not know if I like long distances more than the 800m, but I love challenges. I won’t think too much about it because it is what it is. I’m still learning and am sure that I can go a lot faster in the future.”
The 2016 and 2017 World Indoor gold medallist Champion broke three records in Paris meeting, which was a world-leading time, national record and Meet Record and made history’s sixth fastest outdoor performer.
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