FORMER CSU student Ben St Lawrence had set himself the goal of finishing inside the top five at the 10,000 metre race at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games early on Saturday morning.

So he was left disappointed after crossing the line in 16th, recording a time well outside his best.

Fellow Australian and 2011 Edgell Jog winner Harry Summers was 18th.

The race was won by defending Games champion Moses Kipsiro of Uganda in an incredible finish that looked more like something from a sprint.

Kipsiro’s winning margin was just 0.03 seconds over Kenyan Josphat Bett and was actually less than the gap between first and second in the men’s 100m final (0.1 seconds).

The winning time was 27 minutes, 56.11 seconds, with St Lawrence finishing more than 52 seconds later.

His time was 28:49.41, nearly a minute and a half behind his personal best.

The duel between Kipsiro and Bett conjured memories of the Sydney Olympic battle between eventual winner Haile Gebrselassie and Kenyan Paul Tergat as they hurled themselves towards the line.

“I’m very happy, I didn’t expect this,” Kipsiro, who secured Uganda’s first gold medal of the Games, said.

“A boy deep, deep inside me was telling me to improve my energy.

“God let me push, push, push.”