Doha: Rose Chelimo made Bahrain proud by claiming the silver medal in the midnight marathon event of the World Athletics Championship here on Friday.
The 39-year-old defending champion finished behind winner Ruth Chepngetich of Kenya and ahead of silver medallist Helalia Johannes of Namibia.
Chepngetich overcame extreme heat and humidity to win the gold, in a gruelling 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 marathon of all-time, did not come close to matching that in the punishing conditions. Her winning time of two hours, 32 minutes, 43 seconds was the slowest ever to win the world championships.
Still, it was enough for a comfortable victory over Chelimo who crossed the line more than a minute later with a time of 2:33.46. The Commonwealth champion Johannes, also 39, clocked 2:34.15.
“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.”
Meanwhile, Christian Coleman claimed the 100 metres gold medal, taking the title of the world’s fastest man from his United States team mate Justin Gatlin.
Coleman, silver medallist to Gatlin two years ago in London, turned the tables on his compatriot, rocketing to the top of the podium in a season’s best time of 9.76 seconds.
The 37-year-old Gatlin continued to prove he is one of the sport’s big-time performers, however, and grabbed the silver in 9.89.
Canadian Andre De Grasse, a triple medal winner at the Rio Olympics, returned to form after a string of injuries and took bronze in 9.90. Just weeks ago American Coleman had looked in danger of missing the world championships when the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) filed – and later withdrew – a whereabouts violation charge that could have resulted in a one or two-year sanction.
The opening day of the 10-day event began with the governing International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) issuing a statement that the marathon would go ahead despite concerns over extreme heat and athlete welfare.