| One of the moments of the London World Championships which will be played again and again came 90 seconds into the steeplechase final. Chepkoech, one of the favourites, had been leading at a gentle paced when she simply forgot to cut inside and take the first water jump. She realised her mistake and did the right thing – doubling back and following the path she should have taken in the first instance – but lost 50m in the process. She then fell on the following lap, hampering the European Champion Krause among others. 298 DOHA 2019 PAST RESULTS/WORLD CHAMPS WOMEN’S 3000mSC, 100mH As Chepkoech miraculously made her way back into contention, world record holder Jebet led a pack of six at 1000m (3:02.74 by photocell): herself, Yavi, Chespol, Jepkemoi and the Americans Coburn and Frerichs. Jebet’s pace first dropped her Kenyan-Bahraini compatriot Yavi, and it looked as if she would run from the front for gold as she had at the Rio Olympics. Yet with three laps left, the gap behind her did not grow and six women were still in contention at 2000m (6:03.60). Surprisingly it was world leader Chespol who cracked first, then Jebet unexpectedly succumbed to Chepkoech at the bell and folded completely in the backstraight. Still running strongly were the American pair and they hit the front coming off the last water jump. Against expectation, Coburn drew clear and her compatriot held off Jepkemoi for the silver. The efficiency of the water-jumping by the top two was praised by the London biomechanics, who concluded that “developing effective water jump clearance technique is key to making sure that medals are not 'lost in the water’”. |
