World record-holder Beatrice Chepkoech gave Kenya a gold medal after she emerged the winner in the women’s 3000 meters steeplechase final on Monday at the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Doha.
Chepkoech finished the race with a time of 8:57:84 while USA’s Emma Coburn came in second with 9:02:35. Germany’s Gesa Felicitas Krause finished in the third place with 9:03:30.
Chepkoech dominated the race from the beginning as she moved to almost 30 meters ahead by the second lap.
2 years ago, Chepkoech was on the verge of a breakthrough at the World Championships in London but unfortunately missed a water jump.
The next year, Chepkoech made amends to her mistake and broke the world record in Monaco after finishing with a time of 8:44.32.
“I just pray to be in good health as we head to the World championships. I promise we will run as a team and win gold for Kenya,” Chepkoech said before the race as quoted by Nation.
Speaking after the race, she said her plan was to destroy the field within the first three laps.
“I knew my opponents were tough, so I decided to run from the front. I was fourth in 2016 Olympics and I again came fourth in the 2017 World Championships so I thought if I destroyed the field in the first kilometre, they would be devastated going into the second and it worked well,” Chepkoech said.
The 28-year-old athlete stated that her eyes were now on the 2020 Olympics in Japan.