Kenya's Vivian Cheruiyot won the women's 5,000 meters title at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin on Saturday.

Cheruiyot, silver medalist two years ago in Osaka, clocked 14 minutes 57.97 seconds for the gold.

Her compatriot Sylvia Jebiwott Kibet, who finished fourth in Beijing Olympics, took silver in 14:58.33 and defending champion Meseret Defar of Ethiopia settled for bronze in 14:58.41 after being outsprinted by the Kenyan duo in the at the line.

Defar, who led down the straight, also missed a medal in the last moment in the 10,000 meters final. She was the 2004 Olympic champion in 5,000m and finished third in Beijing.

"I got the silver medal in Osaka and today I improved to the gold medal. It is so great to be a champion! It was a team effort.

"On the last 100m I was pushing so hard, pushing, pushing," Cheruiyot said.

Defar was very disappointed after narrowly missing the gold again.

"I expected I was going to get gold today, but I was not successful. I am very sad.

"The pace was not too fast. I was confident I could win a gold medal but I don't know what happened. After the 10,000, I was sick. I had problems with my stomach and a cold and my leg."

(Xinhua News Agency August 23, 2009)