Athletics championships
August 25, 2009
On the final day of the World Track & Field Championships in Berlin, Bekele's repeat of his Olympic double in Beijing makes him the first man to win both the 5,000-10,000m events at the World Championships.
South Africa's Mbulaeni Mulaudzi took the men's 800-meter final and China's Bai Xue won the women's marathon.
The pre-race favourites, German 2009 world leader Irina Mikitenko and world record holder and 2005 champion Paula Radcliffe of Britain did not participate. Radcliffe was not fully fit after foot surgery, and Mikitenko withdrew after her father's death.
Disqualified for pushing
Spain's Natalia Rodriguez was disqualified after winning the women's 1,500-meter event for shoving then leading Ethiopian Gelete Burka, who fell to the ground and eventually trailed home in last place.
The title instead went to Maryam Jamal of Bahrain.
The 30-year-old Spaniard was adjudged to have pushed Burka, knocking her to the ground. After reviewing the video evidence the Spanish team decided not to protest the decision.
"I saw a space down the inside and then Burka tried to close me out," Rodriguez said.
"There was some barging and then she fell. I did nothing wrong."
In the 4x400 meters relay the United States made up for earlier disappointments, with both men's and women's teams winning easy gold. World and Olympic 400 meter champion LaShawn Merritt teamed up with rival and silver medallist Jeremy Wariner to breeze to victory, with the year's best time of two minutes 57.86 seconds.
Both US 4x100 relay teams had failed to reach the finals after dropping the baton or handing it over outside the box.
Off the track, in the men's javelin Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway added the world title to his two Olympic golds, and in the sandpit Britney Reese of the United States grabbed gold in the women's long jump.
The final medal table after 47 events saw the United States in first place with 22 medals including 10 gold medals, followed by Jamaica with 13 medals in second and Kenya taking third place. Host nation Germany came sixth with nine medals, including two gold medals in the men's discus competition and women's javelin event.
ch/dpa/Reuters
Editor: Nigel Tandy