•In Oregon, Chepngetich is expected to team up with Judith Jeptum and Angela Tanui.
•Both are a force to reckon with considering their top-notch performances in their latest contests.
Image: AFP
Ruth Chepngetich is all set to defend her marathon title at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 today.
Chepngetich will look to replicate her resplendent run at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, where she cruised to the winner's podium after clocking 2:32:43 in the flaming conditions.
Chepngetich surmounted extreme heat and humidity to win the world championship on September 28, 2019, in the fierce battle that saw nearly a third of the 70 starters fall by the wayside.
Despite registering the third fastest marathon of all time, Chepngetich fell short of even matching her personal best in the blistering heat, given her winning time of two hours, 32 minutes, and 43 seconds was the slowest ever to have claimed a world championships title.
Still, it was sufficient to fire her to a comfortable victory over Bahrain’s defending world champion Rose Chelimo, who settled for silver crossing the finish line a minute later. Namibian Helalia Johannes completed the podium to bag bronze.
Chepngetich went on to finish third at the 2020 London Marathon before a roller coaster in 2021, when she set a world record of 1:04:02 at the Istanbul Half Marathon, failed to finish the Tokyo 2020 Marathon in Sapporo but then won the Chicago Marathon.
She was in amazing form at this year’s Nagoya Women's Marathon where she won in 2:17:18, just 10 seconds off her personal best and the second-fastest ever women-only marathon.
In Oregon, Chepngetich is expected to team up with Judith Jeptum and Angela Tanui. Both are a force to reckon with considering their top-notch performances in their latest contests.
Whereas Jeptum set a French all-comers’ record of 2:19:48 to win the Paris Marathon this year, Tanui won the 2021 Amsterdam Marathon in 2:17:57.
The Kenyan trio must, however, contend with the heavy presence of an Ethiopian onslaught spearheaded by Gotytom Gebreslase who won the 2021 Berlin Marathon on her debut and finished third in this year’s Tokyo Marathon in 2:18:18.
The Ethiopian flag will also be flown by Ababel Yeshaneh, who wrapped up second at the 2019 Chicago Marathon in a personal best of 2:20:51, and Ashete Bekere, third in last year’s London Marathon in 2:18:18, who has run 2:17:58 this year.
The host nation will peg its hopes on Keira D’Amato, who broke the North American record on her way to winning January’s Houston Marathon in 2:19:12 where she took 24 seconds off the mark set by Deena Kastor in 2006.
D’Amato, 37, was a late inclusion in the USA lineup following the withdrawal of Olympic bronze medallist Molly Seidel.
Seidel threw in the towel after sustaining a hip injury that forced her to drop out of the Boston Marathon in April. Her eleventh-hour withdrawal gave D’Amato only three weeks to prepare.
D’Amato will be accompanied by compatriots Emma Bates, runner-up at last year’s Chicago Marathon, and Sara Hall, who finished second at the 2020 London Marathon and third at last year’s Chicago Marathon.
Mizuki Matsuda, with a personal best of 2:20:52, Mao Ichiyama, who has run 2:21:02, and Hitomi Niiya, who has a best of 2:21:17 will lead the Japanese charge.
Britain has summoned Rose Harvey, Olympian Jess Piasecki and Charlotte Purdue, who ran a personal best of 2:23:26 in finishing 10th at last year’s London Marathon to the battleground.
Also fancied to make an impression are Bahrain’s Eunice Chumba, who ran 2:20:02 in Seoul in April this year, and Israel’s European 10,000m champion Lonah Salpeter, who won the 2020 Tokyo Marathon in 2:17:45 and was going well in the lead group at last year’s Olympic marathon before dropping down to 66th place in the closing stages.
After also dropping out of the 2019 World Championships marathon, Salpeter will be seeking to make the global impact her talent warrants.
Meanwhile, Eritrea’s Nazret Weldu, who has run a personal best of 2:21:56 this year, is another one to watch.