Chepngetich Takes Women's Marathon World Title as More Than 3rd DNF in Heat
Kenya's Ruth Chepngetich, the 3rd fastest marathoner in history, won the women's marathon gold at the IAAF World Athletics championships in grueling weather conditions in Doha.
The 25-year-old Ruth Chepngetich won the global, marathon title in her first World Championships appearance in extreme heat and humidity in Qatar's capital city Doha.
The race kicked off at midnight on Friday to avoid extreme heat, but the air temperature was still above 30C with 70% humidity. Almost 30 runners were forced to quit due to extreme weather including all three Ethiopian runners who were real medal contenders.
"We never would have run a marathon in these conditions in our own country," Ethiopia's marathon coach Haji Adillo Roba told AFP.
The 23-year-old Chepngetich won the race in two hours 32 minutes and 43 seconds. Defending World champion Bahrain's 39-year-old Ruth Chelimo took silver in 2:33.46 as Commonwealth champion Helalia Johannes of Namibia, also 39, concluded the podium with 2:34.15.
