(UPDATES wuth quotes)
Ethiopia's 2004 gold medalist Meseret Defar regained her Olympic 5,000 meters title on Friday, powering dramatically past defending champion Tirunesh Dibaba in the final straight.
Defar accelerated to the line in 15 minutes, 4.25 seconds, with Kenya's world champion Vivian Jepkemoi Cheruiyot taking the silver half a second back.
Dibaba, the world record holder, flagged in the last 50 meters to drop to the bronze medal in 15:05.15.
"I'm very happy. It's a great day for me," said Defar, who won bronze in Beijing. "Since 2008 I have tried everything as I wasn't able to win the Olympics."
Dibaba spoke of her disappointment at third place.
"I'm not very pleased today. I gave it a good shot, but I wasn't aiming for bronze.
"I'm a bit disappointed, but in a way I'm not sad because I did finish in a medal position."
