“I’m happy to be back here. I’m going to try to give my best and set a personal best at the San Silvestre Vallecana.” Someone said before moving to the 10K race in the contest. The mentioned individual has the men’s fastest 15k record in his resume. Also, in the Tokyo Olympics, the same runner claimed the bronze medal at the 10k event. Hope bloomed among track and field fans that the runner would claim victory in another prestigious contest, this time held in Spain. But in the next few hours, the script took a different tour and the fans couldn’t believe their eyes. Eventually, they questioned the outcome. But what happened in San Silvestre Vallecana? 

The contest on the Spanish track saw an Olympic medalist win the men’s 10k race. But the leaderboard didn’t have Jacob Kiplimo’s name as the winner. Instead, Berihu Aregawi, the Paris Olympics 10,000m silver medalist, claimed the top podium. On December 31, he finished the race in 26.32 minutes in San Silvestre Vallecana. Kiplimo came in second, taking fractions of seconds more than the Ethiopian opponent. Nothing stood fishy in those standings. But the clip of the last 300m race might change something. How? 

On December 31, Chris Chavez shared a 1.10-minute-long snippet of the race between Kiplimo and Berihu. He captioned the post with two capital words, “CLOSE FINISH.” And how close was that? Well, track and field fans noticed Kiplimo giving Berihu leeway to seize the lead meters before the finish line after keeping him behind throughout. The reason behind it can be anything. But a few fans took something against the basic rule of competitions: a healthy contest. 

The fans blamed Jacob Kiplimo for being defeated willingly. Such behavior didn’t sit well with those fans’ expectations. One such fan penned on X, “They didn’t race. Ridiculous.” The criticism took Berihu into the grip as well. The fans alleged that the 23-year-old Ethiopian smiled back at Kiplimo before crossing the finishing line. But what is the reality behind the scene? Should the world record holders’ race be ended, wrapped in such questions? 

No, the fans will never want that. Even the race didn’t show any forecast to have such an ending in the finishing meters. From the first bell, both runners pressed the accelerator and kept pushing each other at the corner. That was most expected, as both had entered Madrid after performing phenomenally. In Paris, Berihu Aregawi claimed the silver medal in the 10k event. Kiplimo, on the other hand, crafted a few more tales of his bravery. 

In November, the Uganda legend broke his own record in the 15k event to replace it with a new time. Previously, the record was 41.05 minutes. But in the November race at the ZevenHeubenloop, he took 40.42 minutes to topple it. Not only that, he also defended his World Cross Country title against Aregawi a few days ago in Belgrade. Now in the ranking, he is just 31 points short of touching his Ethiopian nemesis. But on Tuesday, Jacob Kiplimo showed no mood to cruise past Aregawi in the last few meters. The track and field fans and raconteurs didn’t take it lightly. 

The track and field sports community criticizes the ‘finishing’

“Could have been a great finish but ended up quite disappointing. Kiplimo smiling and not making any effort to kick at the end and didn’t look like Aregawi was trying much harder,” Jonathan Gault wrote on X, throwing fireballs at the result. The sports journalist’s comment depicts the finishing of the racing suitably. The clip of the last 300m distance doesn’t promote any competition between Jacob Kiplimo and Berihu Aregawi. Meanwhile, another veteran mirrored the same part in his comment. 

Under Chris Chavez’s X-post, Paul Hopkins wrote, “Very odd finish.” Paul’s eligibility says he’s a rank holder in the World Marathon Majors. And his specialist eyes didn’t miss the uncanny finish of the race. The ending moments in the 10K competition held an understanding, not a contest. Another X-user had the same view. On X, that individual claimed, “neither of them wanted to win that.” Yes, the timings also point in that direction. Both runners finished the race at the same time. Additionally, the difference of fractions of a second decided the winner. These facts may have caused spectators to view the race differently. 

In the meantime, someone reminded the fans in the comment box by chiming, “Kiplimo is great finisher…he just didn’t want to win intentionally.” In his scintillating career, Jacob Kiplimo has medals from both the Olympics and World Championships, claimed in the 10K event. The Ugandan athlete’s performance in each of those editions was beyond question. In the cross-country distances, he is among the all-time greats. All such stars have come to him because of his finishing speed in the races. But on Tuesday, that was missing. Do you have any take on it? If yes, then please let us know.