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Wolde comes of age with 5,000 meter gold
= = SYDNEY, Sept 30 (AFP) - Ethiopia's Million Wolde came of age when he won the Olympic 5,000 meter title here on Saturday. The 21-year-old who won the world junior title two years ago and finished eighth at the world championships in Seville a year ago, ran his race to perfection, beating out second placed Ali Saidi-Sief of Algeria and Morocco's Brahim Lahlafi. With no one prepared to set a fast pace, Wolde bided his time before pouncing 200 meters out. He burst past the 22-year-old Saidi-Sief who had taken the lead but simply had no answer to the Ethiopian's power. "I did not think I could win gold before coming here but when there were two laps to go I decided it was possible and went for it," said Wolde. It was another heartbreak for Lahlafi who lost out in Seville in the dash for the line after leading the last lap. Again Lahlafi, who heads the world rankings this year after an impressive win in Brussels in August, was unable to find the strength in his legs when it was needed. Afterwards he dedicated his medal to fellow Moroccan Hicham El Guerrouj who failed to win the 1,500 meters on Friday. "The Moroccan team was very disappointed for Hicham yesterday. He's a great champion and we were sad to see him beaten. Winning a medal is all that I can try and do to make it better for Hicham. He is Morocco's greatest athlete and this medal is for him," said Lahlafi.
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