| The heat (28°) didn’t seem to bother the unheralded Straneo. The 37 year-old mother of two went straight into the lead and kept it for 95% of the race. Reigning champion Kiplagat was cautious in the early stages, passing 10Km in 34:42, some 30 seconds behind Straneo, but a 16:44 split for the next 5Km brought her back into contact. Straneo headed a group of six at halfway (72:58). Ten minutes later the pack was down to four (Straneo, Kiplagat, Fukushi and Melkamu). The Italian increased the pace slightly after 30Km with a 17:05 5Km portion, and only Kiplagat was now in touch. The two had a gap of almost a minute to Melkamu, who dropped out after 36Km. Straneo reached 40Km in 2:18:22, and a few seconds later Kiplagat went to the front and eventually won by 14 seconds from the valiant Italian, who later declared “I am the surprise of the day.” Even more surprised was thirdplaced Fukushi who claimed “I didn’t even know until I entered the stadium. I was very happy to find out I won a medal.” |
