[ 2011-08-27 ]

Kenya win historic marathon sweep at athletics worlds
DAEGU, South Korea (AFP) - Distance running
powerhouse Kenya completed a historic clean sweep
of the world championships women's marathon on the
opening day as Edna Kiplagat recovered from a
tumble to win in 2hr 28min 43sec.

The 31-year-old, who crashed to the ground with
about seven kilometres to go, found the strength
to fend off team-mates Priscah Jeptoo and Sharon
Cherop to clinch the first gold medal of the
championships in South Korea.

Kiplagat, who won last year's New York marathon,
collided with Cherop at a water stop but recovered
quickly to ease to victory a comfortable 17
seconds ahead of Jeptoo (2:29:00) and 31sec clear
of Cherop (2:29:14)

"Representing my country in the world
championships, I'm very happy because I didn't
know I was going to be the winner," said
mother-of-two Kiplagat, who is coached by her
husband.

"When I fell down I tried to run and pick up my
form as much as I could and so when I ran one
kilometre I found I'm picking up again so I tried
to run my best."

Cherop said after Kiplagat's tumble she slowed
down to wait for her team-mate to check if she was
okay and words were exchanged between the
Kenyans.

Silver medallist Jeptoo said: "When she fell down
I felt very bitter and I went to her. She told us
to give her a few minutes to recover and after one
kilometre she recovered and she was even stronger
than before the fall.

"At that point I knew she was going to win gold.
We are very happy, especially for her to have won
gold after falling down."

Kiplagat, a police officer, said her strategy to
run the second half of the race faster than the
first had paid off although her time was much
slower than her personal best of 2:20:46 set at
this year's London marathon, where she finished
third.

Jeptoo, who said the humid conditions were tough,
said the Kenyans used teamwork on the city streets
of Daegu to achieve the medals sweep, the first in
the marathon at a world championships for men or
women.

"We talked to each other and we decided to go, not
to retreat again," she said, adding: "We were
ready to fight for our country."

In a cagey race under cloudy skies with
temperatures in the mid-20s Celsius, nobody was
willing to take a risk and strike out alone in the
early stages.

Even at the 25km mark of the course along a
largely flat circuit through wide city streets,
the leading pack of 26 runners were separated by
just two seconds, with Jeptoo marginally in
front.

But shortly before the two-hour mark a group of
four runners broke away including the three
medallists.

And the Kenyans then made their move, pulling away
to establish a clear lead before Kiplagat struck
out on her own.

The marathon course is divided into two laps of a
15km course and one lap of 12.195km through Daegu,
South Korea's fourth largest city with a
population of more than 2.5 million.

Source - AFP

... go Back