Kenenisa Bekele sets season best in 10,000m

BRUSSELS — Double Olympic champion Kenenisa Bekele ran the fastest 10,000m of the season on Friday at the Brussels Diamond League meeting, clocking 26min 43.16sec.

The 29-year-old bettered the previous leading time of 26:46.57 set by Britain’s Mo Farah in Eugene in June.

Kenya’s Lucas Rotich (26:43.98) and Galen Rupp of the United States (26:48.00) took seconjd and third respectively.

Bekele, who won 5,000m and 10,000m gold at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, has endured a miserable, injury-hit season.

He was a no-show in heats for the 5000m at the world championships in Daegu after limping out of the 10,000m, in which he was also defending champion from Berlin in 2009.

Bekele dropped out of the 10,000m with 10 laps to go, saying he was still suffering with a groin injury that affected his right hip muscle.