Tokyo : Kenya’s Peres Jepchirchir produced a gritty performance to win the women’s marathon in Sapporo on Saturday and claim gold at the Tokyo Games in brutal conditions, said dpa international.
On a hot and humid day in Sapporo, Jepchirchir triumphed in 2 hours 27 minutes 20 seconds, crossing the line 16 seconds before compatriot Brigid Kosgei. American Molly Seidel was a surprise bronze medal as she came in 10 seconds later.
Jepchirchir and Kosgei, both 27 years old, made a decisive move after the 37-kilometre mark, initially shaking off Seidel and Israeli record-holder Lonah Salpeter.
The move broke Salpeter, who stopped 38 kilometres in dropping out of medal contention, while the American, who was running in her third ever marathon, held on to finish third.
Salpeter ended up finishing 66th, over 21 minutes behind Jepchirchir.
Jepchirchir, a two-time world half marathon champion, accelerated at the 40-kilometre mark to lose Kosgei, the world record holder in the distance, and secure the gold.
Despite the searing temperatures at the Sapporo Odori Park, the top six finishers ran their season’s best times.
International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach and World Athletics president Sebastian Coe were among those cheering athletes on as they crossed the finish line.
Organizers had brought the race forward an hour to a 6 am (2100 GMT Friday) start in order to protect runners from the heat. The move was made on the advice of the medical commission of the governing World Athletics.
Marathons and the race walks at the Games were taken out of Tokyo to Sapporo, some 700 kilometres north of the Japanese capital, in order to avoid searing temperatures – but athletes in Friday’s race walks still competed in heat of over 30 degree Celsius.
The temperatures at the start of the women’s marathon was still around a testing 26 degrees Celsius and the humidity was over 80 per cent, and were up to 29 degrees Celsius as the runners finished the race.
Over a dozen runners, including world champion Ruth Chepngetich, did not finish the race.
The men’s marathon on Sunday currently retains its original start time of 7 am.
