Kenyan-born Kazakh athlete Norah Jeruto won the world title in the 3,000m steeplechase at the championships in Eugene, Oregon in a record-breaking final.
Norah Jeruto was confident that she would win and set off in record paces of 2:57.72 min in the 1,000m and 5:58.29 min in the 2,000m. Kazakh athlete remained in the company of only Ethiopians Werkuha Getachew and Mekides Abebe, as well as her former compatriot from Kenya, who competed for Bahrain – Winfred Mutile Yavi.
In the final 200m of the 3,000m steeplechase, there is one water and one regular obstacle and yet Norah Jeruto clocks in at 32 seconds. Her final time for the win was 8:53.02 min – a new championship record, a new Kazakhstan record and third all-time. This was also the first title for Kazakhstan from the World Athletics Championships.
Werkuha Getachew finished second in Ethiopia’s national record of 8:54.61 min, fourth in history. Mekides Abebe was third with 8:56.08 min, a personal best and fifth all-time. Winfred Mutile Yavi was fourth with 9:01.31 min, and the battle for fifth place brought the Albanian national record of 9:10.04 min to Luiza Gega. The Albanian overtook the Americans Courtney Frerichs – (world vice-champion from London 2017) – 9:10.59 min and Emma Coburn (world champion from London 2017 and second in Doha 2019) – 9:16.49 min. Courtney Frerichs, who is the runner-up from Tokyo 2020 Olympis, was sixth, and Emma Coburn (bronze medalist from the Rio 2019 Olympics) was eighth. Aimee Pratt finished in between, breaking the British record with 9:15.64 min.
Olympic champion Peruth Chemutai (Uganda) took 11th place with 9:21.40 min, and two-time bronze medalist from these championships (Beijing 2015 and Doha 2019) Gesa Felicitas Krause (Germany) finished last with 9:52.66 min.
