OREGON22: Chepngetich out to defend world marathon title

Ruth Chepngetich is out to defend her marathon title at the World Athletics Championships on Monday 18 July in the race set to gun off at 16:15pm

Chepngetich claimed gold at the 2019 Championships, clocking 2:32:43 in the steamy heat to gain her first major gold. She had made the Kenya team courtesy of a stellar career since announcing her arrival with gold at the Istanbul marathon in 2017.

The 27-year-old finished second at the Paris Marathon in 2018, clocking 2:22.59 before returning to Istanbul where she defended her title in 2:18.35 course record. In 2019, she warmed up for the World Championships with a 2:17:08 for gold at the Dubai Marathon.

OREGON22: Ethiopia's Tola takes marathon gold as Kenya misses out

After her exploits in Doha, she went on to finish third at the 2020 London Marathon before a roller coaster 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.

At this year’s Nagoya Women's Marathon, she won in 2:17:18, just 10 seconds off her personal best and the second-fastest ever women-only marathon.

She will be joined on the Kenyan team in Oregon by Judith Jeptum and Angela Tanui. Jeptum set a French all-comers’ record of 2:19:48 to win the Paris Marathon this year, while Tanui won the 2021 Amsterdam Marathon in 2:17:57.

The Kenyan trio have their work cut out against a formidable Ethiopian squad led 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, Ababel Yeshaneh, 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.

Team Kenya also has to keep an eye on former countrymen who have since changed allegiance and pose some threat to their crown led by 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.

The home fans will be behind Keira D’Amato, who broke the North American record in winning January’s Houston Marathon in 2:19:12, taking 24 seconds off the mark set by Deena Kastor in 2006.

D’Amato answered a late call to join the host nation’s team following the withdrawal of Olympic bronze medalist Molly Seidel who has been suffering from a hip injury that forced her to drop out of the Boston Marathon in April and withdrew from the team after being unable to resolve her issue.

Her teammates will be 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.

Additional information by World Athletics