Young Gezahegne dethrones Burka in Doha

Ethiopian teenager Kalkidan Gezahegne stormed to victory ahead of defending champion Gelete Burka in the women's 1,500m to collect her first major medal at the World Indoor championships in Doha.

The 18-year old effortlessly kicked past her senior teammate and favourite Burka and Spaniard Natalia Rodriguez to become the youngest woman to ever win a World indoor title.

“I was hesitating to attack after falling down in the heats,” said Gezahegne, whose tumble to the track and brave run to victory was perhaps the major highlight on the opening day of competition. “At the end my finish was enough.”

Gezahegne raced past both athletes in the sprint finish to strike gold in 4:08.14 minutes. Rodriguez, who took silver behind Burka in Valencia two years ago, kicked past her over the final 50 metres to successfully defend her silver medal, clocking 4:08.30,  with Burka settling for bronze another 0.09 back.

The teenager had shown her potential in the semi-finals, recovering from falling down mid-way through the race to catch the field and set the fastest qualifying time of both heats.

And given a clean run in the final, Gezahegne made no mistakes, tucking in behind Burka before making her move in the last 70m.

Burka had been in a similar position at the World Championships in Berlin last year when a trip from Spain's Natalia Rodriguez saw the Ethiopian cannon to the floor and miss out on a medal.

"I've been running and training for only three years," said Gezahegne, who ran to World Junior silver in the event in 2008 and reached the final in Berlin last summer.

"And already being a World champion is very special. But my career is just beginning."

13th IAAF World Indoor Championships, Doha (QAT) - Sunday, Mar 14, 2010 - Day 3 Results