Three Ethiopians inside 14:19 in Rome as Likina Amebaw runs a world-leading 14:18.41
At the Golden Gala, Amebaw beat Aleshign Baweke and Freweyni Hailu by fractions, Georgia Hunter Bell won the 1500 m and Noah Lyles the 100 m in 9.88.
Photograph: Likina Amebaw and Freweyni Hailu in the women's 3000 m at the 2026 Bislett Games in Oslo, six days after Rome, by Ssu, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsThe women's 5000 m at the Golden Gala in Rome on Thursday came down to three Ethiopians and half a second. Likina Amebaw won in 14:18.41, the fastest time in the world this year and a personal best. Aleshign Baweke was second in 14:18.54 and Freweyni Hailu third in 14:18.94, both lifetime bests too. The organiser's results list Amebaw's time as the 15th fastest ever run. Nadia Battocletti, racing at home in the Stadio Olimpico, finished 13th in 14:40.05.
Georgia Hunter Bell won the women's 1500 m in 3:58.63 from Poland's Klaudia Kazimierska, 3:59.24, with Nikki Hiltz third in 3:59.26. In the men's 800 m, run as a promotional event, Gabriel Tual of France beat Ireland's Mark English, 1:43.66 to 1:43.80, with Italy's Francesco Pernici third in 1:43.97.
Noah Lyles won the 100 m in 9.88 with a 0.4 tailwind. Cameroon's Emmanuel Eseme ran a national record 9.94 for second and Letsile Tebogo was third in 9.95. Marcell Jacobs was fifth in 9.99, his first time under ten seconds since the Olympic final in Paris. Trey Cunningham's 12.98 in the 110 m hurdles was a world lead and took down a meeting record that had stood for 27 years. Rumesh Tharanga of Sri Lanka threw the javelin 92.62 m, a national record.
Three women under 14:19 on the same night, separated by 0.53, is what a 5000 m looks like when nobody waits for the last lap.
Sources: Golden Gala Pietro Mennea; Wikipedia; Sky Sport.
