Janeth Jepkosgei completed a great night for Kenya in the Nagai Stadium this evening, bringing the east African nation its first World Championships gold in women’s middle distance running with an awesome display over two laps that left the three-times champion Maria Mutola sprawling in her wake.
Jepkosgei won the title from the front in 1min 56.04sec, the quickest time in the world this year, a Kenyan record, and the fastest World title-winning time since Mutola in 1993.
The Moroccan Hasna Benhassi won another silver medal to go with the one she won two years ago with 1:56.99 and, in a complete surprise, Mayte Martinez of Spain took the bronze in 1:57.62, passing two much-fancied Russians down the home straight.
“I decided to go in front and not to wait for the others,” said Jepkosgei. “I had to do my best, and that's what I did.”
Jepkosgei had produced the world’s best time last season, but before the semi-finals here hadn’t been seen as a great threat to the 34-year-old Mutola’s bid to win sixth World Championships medal in her eighth final.
However, despite being 10 years her junior and in her first global final, the Kenyan is clearly no respecter of reputations as she showed little mercy in destroying the Mozambiquan to add the World gold to her Commonwealth and African Games titles.
While bigger names were floundering on Jepkosgei’s heels, Benhassi and Martinez benefited from a more cautious approach, both coming from the back in the second half to claim their medals.
The delight for Martinez, fifth last time, was clear from her face. “My focus was always the last 100m,” she said. “My sprint finish is very strong and that made me confident. It is incredible, I got that medal!”
After the semi-finals it seemed Jepkosgei’s best chance was to run hard from the front. After all, she’d blown them all away once, why not again? That was what she did, bursting to the front after a couple of tentative strides and steaming through the first lap in 56.16.
Slovenia’s Brigita Langerholc, the Belarussian Sviatlana Usovich and Russia's Olga Kotlyarova were giving chase, working hard two metres behind. The lead was three metres with 300m to go when Mutola began to make her move.
She closed the gap briefly around the top bend as Benhassi, who had languished some five metres behind the back of the main field in seventh place at half way, began her charge.
But Jepkosgei was simply too strong. Even at that pace she had another gear and kicked again as they entered the home straight.
It was all too much for Mutola who stepped off the track and fell across a photographer on the infield. She was later carried out of the arena on a stretcher.
Jepkosgei pulled even further ahead before crossing the line with her arms outstretched and a huge smile across her face, and a second national record in the space of two days to her name. Benhassi was equally delighted to finish second.
“I'd have liked to go for gold but the pace was suicidal, so I opted for a cautious start and relied on my finish,” said the Morrocan who almost didn’t come to Osaka because of illness.
Martinez, who had been last and 15 metres off the lead at the bell, and seventh with 100m to go, suddenly seemed to be turbo-charged. She squeezed inside one Langerholc, then moved out to pass the fading Usovich and Kotlyarova on the outside to claim Spain’s first ever women’s World 800m medal.
“The Kenyan’s pace was ideal for me because I cannot go at 56 seconds for the first lap, so all I had to do was run the second lap in 60 seconds and believe in my sprint finish,” she said.
For her part, Jepkosgei already has her eyes on the future. “I think it's a challenge for me now, because now I know I'm competitive,” she said, with a touch of understatement.
“The world record is still far away, I m not thinking about it. But I saw afterwards that this was a world leading time. That’s good, but I have to do something more, before the end of the season.”
Osaka 2007 News Team/mkb
