Kenenisa Bekele stars at Prefontaine Classic

, Oregon (AP). — World record-holder Kenenisa Bekele took the lead heading into the final lap and sprinted to the finish to win the 10,000 meters at the Prefontaine Classic on Friday night.

Bekele finished in 27 minutes, 12.08 seconds, ahead of fellow Ethiopians Imane Merga and Abera Kuma.

London Olympic gold medalist Mo Farah withdrew from the race a day earlier because of a stomach bug, instead choosing to run Saturday in the 5,000 in the elite Diamond League meet at Hayward Field.

Bekele set the meet record in the 10,000 at the Prefontaine back in 2008, when he ran it in 26:25.97. He went on to win gold medals in the 10,000 and 5,000 in the Beijing Olympics that year.

Farah won gold in both events at the London Games. But he decided to skip the 10,000 in Eugene to run the shorter distance with training partner Galen Rupp. While Farah is British and Rupp is American, the two have become close pals, training under Alberto Salazar. Read more