The women’s marathon held on day 3 (6. August) of the IAAF world championships in London developed into tactical affair, resulting in a large lead pack of 12 runners forming just before the half-way mark, which was reached in a relatively slow 1:14:53. Among these leaders were the two most experienced and accomplished marathon runners on the Personae roster, Eunice Kirwa (’16 Rio Games silver; ’15 Beijing WC bronze) and Rose Chelimo (’16 Games 8th).
With the leading group still intact through 35 km, the pace picked up significantly over the next 5 km, resulting in runners dropping off, including Kirwa. By 40 km, it was a two-woman race between two-time WC champion Edna Kiplagat (’11 and ’13) and Chelimo. After what appeared to be a decisive surge by Kiplagat in the second-to-last km, Chelimo reeled her back in and moved into the lead for good in the finishing stretch to claim the title in 2:27:11, with Kiplagat taking the silver medal in 2:27:18 after just holding off a surging Amy Cragg who took the bronze medal in the same time as Kiplagat. Kirwa ended up in 6th place with a time of 2:28:17. The WC marathon victory crowns a highly productive year for Chelimo during which she also placed 2nd at the Boston Marathon (2:22:51) and 9th at the IAAF world cross country championships.
In other action on Day 3, Kipyegon Bett advanced to the 800m final by winning his semi-final race in 1:45.02, the fastest time among all semi-finalists. Ferguson Rotich finished 3rd in his semi-final (1:46.49), eliminating him from further competition in London.