Former Kenyan international Norah Jeruto Tanui produced a breathtaking performance to win Kazakhstan's first-ever World Athletics Championships title on Thursday, July 21, 2022, in Oregon, United States.
Jeruto outpaced Ethiopia's duo of Mekidas Abebe and Werkuha Getachew to clock a championship record time of 8:53.02 in the 3,000m steeplechase race.
The latter clocked 8:56.08 while Abebe crossed the finishing line in 8:54.61.
Kenyan-born Bahrain athlete Winfred Mutile Yavi and World Under 20 Kenyan champion Celliphine Chespol finished 6th and 13th respectively.
Yavi, who was the favourite going into the race, stumbled in the final part of the race to settle for a 6th place position.
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This was the first time in the history of the world championships that three women ran under 9 minutes.
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“The weather was good here. I enjoyed my race today. At the starting line, I was afraid of my friends from Ethiopia,”
“They are also champions like me so I was scared of them. I tried my best to win the race and it was not easy. It was tough,” Jeruto was quoted by The Washington Post.
Kenya failed to defend the title won by world record holder Beatrice Chepkoech in the 2019 edition staged in Doha, Qatar.
Kenya now sits 4th in the world standings behind the United States, African rivals Ethiopia, and China with one gold, three silver and two bronze medals.
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