DOHA ¨C Kenya¡¯s Ruth Chepngetich overcame extreme heat and humidity to win the IAAF World Athletics Championships midnight marathon on Friday, in a grueling test of survival that saw nearly a third of the 70 starters fail to reach the finish line.
Chepngetich, who has clocked the third-fastest women¡¯s marathon of all-time, did not come close to matching that in the punishing conditions. Her winning time of 2 hours, 32 minutes, 43 seconds was the slowest ever to win the world championships.
Still, it was enough for a comfortable victory over Bahrain¡¯s defending world champion Rose Chelimo, who settled for silver crossing more than a minute adrift.
Namibia¡¯s Helalia Johannes completed the podium taking the bronze.
¡°I am very happy with the win and bringing back the gold to Kenya,¡± said Chepngetich.
¡°It was a tough race but I knew what to expect as I ran in Dubai.
¡°I trained for this weather running in the afternoon when the sun was high.
¡°I want to win another for Kenya in Tokyo.¡±
The opening day of the 10-day event began with the IAAF issuing a statement that the marathon would go ahead despite concerns over extreme heat and athletes¡¯ wellbeing.
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