Athletics at the 2008 Beijing Summer Games:

After winning the 10K a week before, Tirunesh Dibaba was looking to become the first woman to win the 5K/10K double at the Olympics. The early lead in the final was taken by Russian Gulnara Galkina, who had already won the steeplechase gold medal. She led thru the first kilometer when Turkey’s Elvan Abeylegesse (a native Ethiopian), silver medalist in the 10K, took over. But the pace was pedestrian, likely due to the high temperatures, and all the contenders were still in contention. Abeylegesse pushed the pace with two laps left, but did not drop Dibaba. Dibaba took the lead at the bell and was not challenged on the final lap, winning quite easily, to acheive the first female Olympic distance double. Abeylegesse held on for the silver medal, duplicating their 10K 1-2 finish. The winning time of 15:41.40 was the slowest ever for an Olympic or World Championship final.