Risper Kimaiyo of Kenya winning the 2016 IAU 50k world title in Doha (© organisers)
Tony Migliozzi of the US and Kenyan Risper Kimaiyo prevailed at the 2nd IAU 50km World Championships in Doha, Qatar, on Friday (11).
Migliozzi and Kimaiyo ran times of 2:55:02 and 3:22:45 respectively over the 2.5km course located on the Aspire Academy grounds near the center of the Qatari capital. Migliozzi’s victory guided the US to the men’s team title while Great Britain captured the women’s.
In the men’s race Collen Makaza of Zimbabwe took the early lead, with teammate Zivanai Portpher Dombojena and Sharabutu Philips of Nigeria choosing to follow. Warm conditions early on slowed many of the runners, while some chose to follow a more cautious pace. By the halfway point, four runners remained in contention, with Phillips dropping back and Migliozzi and teammate Tyler Andrews moving up.
With Makaza shadowing him closely, Andrews took the lead at 27.5 kilometres, but it would prove short-lived. Migliozzi, who won here in 2015, remained within striking distance throughout, and made his move at the 35-kilometre mark to the front for good.
Andrews held on for second clocking 2:56:04, with Makaza third in 2:56:58.
In the women's race, Kimaiyo prevailed by more than three minutes over Germany’s Nele Alder- Baerns.
Deborah Badung of Nigeria took the early lead, leading the field through the first 15 kilometres, with Kimaiyo running second. Khishigsaikhan Galbadrakh of Mongolia and Czech Petra Pastorova ran in tandem behind the leaders, and even moved to the front just before the halfway point.
At 27.5 kilometres, Kimaiyo assumed the lead. Behind her, Alder-Baerns and Briton Amy Clements were also making their moves to strike for podium finishes. Those moves reaped dividends for the pair even as Kimaiyo padded her lead to run away with the title. Alder-Baerns was a distant second in 3:25:53 with Clements taking bronze in 3:26:17.
In the men's team battle, the US took the top spot with a combined time of 8:56:37. Great Britain and Germany finished second and third in 8:59:29 and 9:45:58 respectively.
In the women's team fight, Great Britain took home the gold in 10:36:01, nearly four minutes ahead of the US squad which clocked 10:40:00. Further back Croatia took the bronze with a time of 11:26:36.
Nadeem Khan (organisers) for the IAAF
