BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Amane Beriso Shankule led a 1-2 finish by Ethiopia in the women's marathon on a warm Saturday morning at the world championships.
Shankule powered through the city streets of Budapest to finish in a time of 2 hours, 24 minutes, 23 seconds to edge defending champion and teammate Gotytom Gebreslase. Fatima Ezzahra Gardadi of Morocco took bronze.
The 31-year-old Shankule said the Ethiopian team worked together to make it difficult on the rest of the runners to keep up.
“After we got rid of the rest, then it was a battle with my tough teammates,” Shankule said. “Gebreslase is a strong athlete and she wanted to defend her title.”
Of the 77 runners who started, 65 finished in a race that began with temperatures at 23 degrees Celsius (73 degrees Fahrenheit) and soared to 29 Celsius (84 Fahrenheit) by the end. There were heat warnings in effect for later in the day when it's expected to climb to around 35 Celsius (95 Fahrenheit).
“I know it is very hot but for me it was not so difficult,” Shankule said. “I wish we had started a bit earlier so we could have run a faster time.”
Shankule steadily began to pull away from her Ethiopian teammates late in the race and only occasionally looked back over her shoulder to see if anyone was catching up.
No one was.
She raised her arms as she crossed the finish line inside Heroes’ Square. Gebreslase finished 11 seconds behind. The top American finisher was Lindsay Flanagan in ninth.
“The main goal was to bring home the gold. I am proud we (Ethiopians) are keeping the title,” Gebreslase said.
Gebreslase set a world-championship record (2:18:11) in the cooler conditions of Eugene, Oregon, last summer.
“It was very cold in Oregon, and it is very hot in Budapest,” Gebreslase said. “But we knew the conditions are going to be tough.”
The heat and the blistering pace wore down many runners, including sixth-place finisher Rosemary Wanjiru of Kenya.
“It was just too hot for me,” Wanjiru said.
The marathon kicked off the second-to-last day at worlds. In the night session, Noah Lyles, fresh off winning the 200 meters, could be back on the track to anchor the United States in the 4x100 relay.
Faith Kipyegon of Kenya will look to add a 5,000-meter title to the 1,500 crown she won earlier in the championships. In addition, Swedish pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis is set to defend his title.
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