Scott completes second Olympic journey in 10,000m final
TOKYO – Arkansas alum Dominique Scott placed 20th in the Tokyo Olympics 10,000m final with a time of 32:14.05 on Saturday to complete her second Olympic Games representing South Africa.
During the Tokyo Olympics, Scott became the first South African female to compete in an Olympic 5,000m. She also became the second South African female to contest multiple 10,000m finals in the Olympic Games. Scott placed 21st during the Rio Olympics.
Previous South African runners racing the 10,000m distance includes Elana Meyer, who was second in 1992 and eighth in 2000, and Colleen de Reuck, who finished 13th in 1996.
In the Tokyo final, Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands won gold in 29:55.32 with Kalkidan Gezahegne of Bahrain claiming silver in 29:56.18. Current world record holder Letesenbet Giday of Ethiopia, who led the race from 3,000m to 9,280m, collected bronze in 30:01.72.
It was the second gold medal and third medal overall during the Tokyo Olympics for Hassan, who won the 5,000m and placed third in the 1,500m.
The temperature during the race was 82 degrees with 81 percent humidity inside Olympic Stadium as 29 runners started. Three did not finish while one entrant was disqualified.
Photos courtesy Getty Images Sport
