KENYA’S FORMER world U20 champion Faith Cherotich upset the odds and beat the two women who had finished in front of her in Paris — Bahrain’s Olympic winner Winfred Yavi and her Ugandan predecessor Peruth Chemutai — to take the DL steeple title in 9:02.36.
Yavi advertised that she wanted another crack at Beatrice Chepkoech’s 6-year-old WR of 8:44.32, which she just missed in Rome at the end of last month timed in 8:44.39. The pace here was inevitably quick from the gun.
Apart from the German pacemaker Olivia Gürth, the race became a battle among the three main protagonists in less than a lap.
The first kilo was completed in 2:55.43, just outside WR pace, but unfortunately dropped in the second kilometer and 2K was passed in 6:00.14 to extinguish any serious consideration of a record on the night.
Chemutai’s challenge evaporated off the last water jump as Cherotich sprinted away from Yavi and held her lead to the line with Yavi 2nd in 9:02.87 and Chemutai 3rd in 9:07.60.
“I didn’t expect to win today,” said Cherotich, “but I think that I ran a good race. It wasn’t easy, but I kept saying to myself that if I’m still in the lead after the last water jump, I was going to win.”
Yavi said she “was aiming for the World Record but with the circumstances and how the race turned out, it was not possible. It was too cold to take a shot at the World Record. However, I really enjoyed this race.”
Gabbi Jennings, having just missed out on making the Paris team, continued her impressive end to the season with 9:09.89 for 5th, little more than 2 seconds outside her 9:07.70 PR in Zürich just over a week earlier.
Results
1. Faith Cherotich (Ken) 9:02.36; 2. Winfred Yavi (Bhr) 9:02.87; 3. Peruth Chemutai (Uga) 9:07.60; 4. Gesa-Felicitas Krause (Ger) 9:08.94; 5. Gabbi Jennings (US) 9:09.89; 6. Marwa Bouzayani (Tun) 9:10.19; 7. Val Constien (US) 9:13.31; 8. Lea Meyer (Ger) 9:22.71; 9. Olivia Markezich (US) 9:27.98.