Kenyan champs display greatest show of sportsmanship on Day 1

If there’s such a thing as a Fair Play Trophy at the IAAF World Athletics Championships, then it most definitely must go to Kenya’s Sharon Cherop.

The 27-year-old 2010 Toronto Marathon champion on Saturday displayed an unforgettable show of sportsmanship that eventually led to Kenya sweeping the medals on the opening day of the Daegu championships a 1-2-3 feat in the women’s marathon.

New York Marathon champion Ednah Kiplagat took gold in two hours, 28 minutes and 43 seconds with the Paris Marathon winner this year, Priscah Jeptoo, bagging silver in 2:29.00 and Cherop settling for bronze in her season’s best 2:29.14.

Kenya also took the team title, Commonwealth champion Irene Kosgei surviving a bad fall to come home 13th (2:23.25) and Caroline Rotich finishing 27th (2:27.57). Ethiopia were second and China third.

Kosgei falls during race

There was a feeling of dejavu when Kosgei was tripped and fell halfway in the race, reminiscent of her fall early in the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi last year from which she recovered to become the first Kenyan woman to win a Commonwealth Games marathon gold.

“It was bad but I’m OK; just minor soft tissue injuries,” Kosgei said after battling gallantly to a 13th place finish.

The race had pretty much started off as a cat-and-mouse game with none of the top contenders wishing to make a move, but after the pack disentangled and Kiplagat surged forward at about 30km, the most dramatic and most memorable moment of the race occurred.

At the 35km water station, Kiplagat moved in to refuel and on her way out of the “pits” she clipped Cherop’s heel and came tumbling down in a moment most including her husband Gilbert Koech who was following the race on the sidelines here - thought had sealed her fate.

A stunned Cherop stopped, turned back to make sure he team-mate was fine with the three chatting a little bit as they moved up the gears in a show of solidarity that excited the local crowd here.

“I was so annoyed. It was not my fault and that’s why I had to wait for her and see that she is okay first before I could continue,” said the selfless Cherop who, despite settling for the minor medal, must be credited for pushing the race so well and making sure the new world champion was fine and good for victory.

“When Edna fell down, she said we give her a little time so she could see how her body reacted to the fall and so we ran together as a team and after one kilometre, she told us she was better. We are happy she won the gold medal,” Jeptoo said.

The 32-year-old Kiplagat surprised herself by how she recovered from the fall.

“I was a little bit shocked and I didn’t know whether if I got up I would pick myself up again I’m really happy because this victory is a big surprise and I’m happy that we ran as a team and also won the team title.”

The race itself was off to a slow start, understandably so due to the weather conditions here at 24 degrees and a humidity of 81 per cent, conditions that troubled most runners.

“I have never run before in a humid place and so I had to go easy in the first half first,” said Cherop.

Exactly 12 hours, 30 minutes and 43 seconds after the start of the 13th IAAF World Championships in Athletics here, Kenya was up there at the top of the medals table with a perfect seven – two gold, two silver and two bronze medals – plus the women’s marathon team gold as a bonus.

Olympic glory for Kenya’s brilliant women is now beckoning, especially after the country struck the marathon gold, silver and bronze earlier in the day through Ednah Kiplagat, Prisca Jeptoo and Sharon Cherop, setting the pace for what it touted will be Kenya’s best World Championships ever. And Ethiopia’s worst.

But first things first. A world title in just her third outing in the 10,000m race and personal best of 30:48.98 shows what material policewoman Vivian Cheruiyot is made of.

Before an admiring crowd at the 66,422-seater Daegu Stadium, the biggest performance since Turkey floored South Korea 3-2 to take bronze in the 2002 Fifa World Cup, was witnessed on Saturday.

And Kenyans were the main actors, with Ethiopia providing the supporting cast in a drama that saw Cheruiyot lead a clean 1-2-3-4 sweep and put her dreams of a 5,000m and 10,000m very much alive.

Exciting Texas Tech alumnus Sally Kipyego (30:50.04) pushed for a surprise silver, defending champion Linet Masai (30:53.59) the bronze and Prisca Jepleting (3:56.43) was fourth in a race that was televised as a horror movie of sorts in Addis Ababa. Horror because, like Cheruiyot, Ethiopia’s legend Meseret Defar was targeting a 5k and 10k double here which failed with devastating effect.

The former Olympic and World 5,000m champion dropped out with five laps to go, clutching her stomach and walking crestfallen past equally stunned journalists before she took a seat next to a television camera, bravely watched the race for a moment as the Kenyans decimated her remaining colleagues Meselech Melkamu and Shitaye Eshete.

But the sight was too much to bear and Defar headed into the safety of the changing rooms. This was indeed the race’s defining moment.

“I saw Defar had dropped out and I told Linet that we need to push,” said the fresh world champion. “I will relax and then start planning for the 5,000 metres. There’s plenty of time.”

The 5,000m heats will be run on Tuesday.

It was an evening of mixed feelings for Masai. She had lost her world title, but was still part of a historic Kenya team that swept the podium.

Attacking the 5,000m

“I had planned to push hard to defend my title but my tactics did not work. I’m disappointed for losing my title but happy at the same time that it remained in Kenya,” Masai said.

Like Cheruiyot, Masai confirmed that she maintains her plans of attacking the 5,000m. She said: “I’m stronger in the 10,000m but I know now the Ethiopians are weaker and I will try the 5,000m.”

Kipyego, a nursing graduate from Texax Tech University and a nine-time US collegiate champion was ecstatic, falling down on her knees and shedding tears of joy after crossing the line as she led the girls past the 6,000m mark in 18:50.08. She holds the season’s fastest time, 30:38.35.

“To make it six out of six medals on the opening day is just great for Kenya,” said