Paul Chelimo (R), Mo Farah of Great Britain (C) and Cyrus Rutto of Kenya (L) compete in the men's 5,000-meter final at the 16th IAAF World Athletics Championships at the London Stadium on Aug. 12, 2017 in London.
Olympic silver medalist Paul Chelimo didn’t let a fall in the semifinals stop him from earning a spot in the 5,000-meter final.
His final push for the finish earned him a bronze medal at the IAAF World Championships.
Chelimo, a native of Kenya who now lives in Oregon and is a member of the U.S. Army World Class Athlete program, finished in 13:33.30.
Muktar Edris of Ethiopia won gold with a time of 13:32.79, beating 2016 Olympic champion Mo Farah of Great Britain, who finished in 13:33.22 for the silver medal in his final race on the track.
Chelimo fell with four laps to go on the wet track in Wednesday’s semifinals but came back and qualified.
His strong kick helped him win silver at the Olympic Games Rio 2016 a year ago, and on Saturday he ran a 52-second bell lap to help him win the bronze medal in London.
Chelimo had an eventful experience in Rio, when he was temporarily disqualified for stepping out of bounds as a group of runners jostled earlier in the race. He was reinstated soon after.
Karen Price is a reporter from Pittsburgh who has covered Olympic sports for various publications. She is a freelance contributor to TeamUSA.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.
