Bekele completes trio

ByEurosport

Published 12/03/2006 at 17:19 GMT

Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele became the first athlete to win world titles on three surfaces when he took the men's 3,000 metres crown at the world indoor championships on Sunday.

ATHLETICS 2006 World Indoor Champs. - Moscow 3000m men Kenenisa Bekele Ethiopia

Image credit: Reuters

The world and Olympic 10,000 metres champion pulled away with one and a half laps to go to win in seven minutes 39.32 seconds. He now holds world titles indoors, outdoors and over cross-country.

Double world steeplechase champion Saif Saaeed Shaheen of Qatar used his superb finishing speed to make sure of silver ahead of Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge in 7:41.28.

Kipchoge, the fastest man in the world over the distance this year, was third in 7:42.58.

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Bekele, 23, is also the only man to win the long and short course races at the world cross-country championships. He has done that double four successive times.

"After winning titles outdoors and in cross-country, indoors is like a fun-run for me," Bekele told reporters.

"I really sprinted over the last two laps. I was controlling the race but I didn't expect it to be easy as Shaheen and Kipchoge are top-class athletes."

Bekele added that he hoped to compete at this year's world cross-country championships in Japan on April 1-2.

The three favourites were happy to hang back for the first 1,000 metres and let Irishman Alistair Cragg set the pace.

Bekele went to the front and increased the speed with seven laps to go, followed by Kipchoge and Shaheen.

The world 5,000 and 10,000 record holder kicked for home with three laps to go and then found even more speed to leave Shaheen in his wake.

It was the first time the three medallists had met on the track and they all shook hands after the race.

"The race was fantastic," a delighted Shaheen said. "I hope in the summer I get a chance to run with him again. I don't want to say I'll beat him because I might not but I will try," added the Kenyan-born Qatari, who switched nationalities in 2003.

Bekele had high hopes for his younger brother Tariku, who finished sixth in his first major final.

"It was a little bit difficult for him he is very young," Bekele said of the 19-year-old. "I help him, we train together.

"I hope for him in the future he has a lot of talent."

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