Magical Race For Masai In Moncton

Kenyan win’s junior men’s 10,000 meters in world-leading time.

Dennis Masai of Kenya, younger brother of reigning women’s world 10,000-meter champion Linet, showed the world last night at the IAAF World Junior Championships in Moncton, Canada that winning 25-lap track races must run in the family.

Crossing the 5K halfway point in 14:43.77, Masai blitzed the second half of the race in an impressive 13:10.11 to win the men’s 10,000 meters in a world-leading time of 27:53.88 — a 32-second personal best for the 19-year-old, who became the seventh Kenyan in history to claim gold in the event.

“I’m so happy being number one in the world,” Masai said after the race. “You know, my partner, he had a stitch. What we were planning was not going well – we were running as a team.”

Ethiopian Gebretsadik Abraha finished second in 28:03.45, while Masai’s countryman, Paul Lonyangata, finished third in 28:14.55.

Photos of the meet can be found here and here. For a complete recap of last night’s action, visit IAAF.org.