by Brett Larner
Click photo for video highlights of men's 5000 m.
The final day of track and field competition at the 2011 World University Games brought the biggest round of distance racing, with the women's and men's half marathon and the men's 5000 m final all taking place Aug. 21. Both half marathons were slow and tactical as the athletes dealt with the morning heat and humidity. The women's half went out in 18:59 for the first 5 km, a pace which kept the entire field together. A split of 18:39 for the next 5 km dropped a few of the weaker runners, but a 17:42 split from 10 to 15 km cut the field down to seven, including all four Japanese runners. China's Xiaoli Jiang and Japan's Shiho Takechi were unable to keep this pace and fell away from the lead pack. Of the remaining five, only North Korean Un Ok Ro could maintain pace as she ran 17:43 from 15 to 20 km to open a narrow lead she carried all the way to gold in 1:16:38. China's Lingling Jin …
Click photo for video highlights of men's 5000 m.
The final day of track and field competition at the 2011 World University Games brought the biggest round of distance racing, with the women's and men's half marathon and the men's 5000 m final all taking place Aug. 21. Both half marathons were slow and tactical as the athletes dealt with the morning heat and humidity. The women's half went out in 18:59 for the first 5 km, a pace which kept the entire field together. A split of 18:39 for the next 5 km dropped a few of the weaker runners, but a 17:42 split from 10 to 15 km cut the field down to seven, including all four Japanese runners. China's Xiaoli Jiang and Japan's Shiho Takechi were unable to keep this pace and fell away from the lead pack. Of the remaining five, only North Korean Un Ok Ro could maintain pace as she ran 17:43 from 15 to 20 km to open a narrow lead she carried all the way to gold in 1:16:38. China's Lingling Jin …