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A18 SPORTS
Saturday 28 September 2019

Ruth Chepngetich, of Kenya, celebrates winning the women’s marathon at the World Athletics
Championships in Doha, Qatar, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2019.
Associated Press
Midnight Run: Chepngetich

sweats it out for marathon gold

By EDDIE PELLS best.” the bronze to become the
AP National Writer Small swaths of hard-core first female from Namibia to
Guinea-Bissau’s Braima Suncar Dabo assists Aruba’s Jonathan DOHA, Qatar (AP) — The fans lined the 7-kilometer win a medal at worlds.
Busby across the line of a men’s 5000m heat at the World 68 women who lined up loop and watched runner “I cannot say I enjoyed the
Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar, Friday, Sept. 27, 2019. for the marathon in a vir- after runner fill towels and event,” Johannes said.
Associated Press tual steam bath off the bay hats brimming with ice, Salpeter had been con-
World championship fronting Doha’s downtown then pick it out to drop it sidered a contender. But
were posed with one not-
into their sweat-saturated a slip-up in grabbing a
runner helps ailing so-simple question when tank tops and bottoms. water bottle and a towel
the clock struck midnight They saw runners double-
at around the 5-kilometer
rival cross the line Saturday: How much are fisting electrolyte drinks, mark cost her precious time
and running with drenched — and energy — and after
you willing to suffer?
Suffer to win? Suffer for a towels wrapped around racing hard, and in vain, to
By JAMES ELLINGWORTH medal? Suffer just to say their necks, and wringing catch back up to the lead
AP Sports Writer you finished? cool water from sponges pack, she dropped out at
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — You didn’t need a stopwatch or a On a night in which 28 of they plucked off tables that the 20-mile mark.
measuring tape to identify the biggest winner on the first those runners didn’t get to were scattered around the Groner, a 41-year-old
night of track and field’s world championships. the finish line, Ruth Chepn- course. mother from New Jersey,
The gold medal for sportsmanship went to Braima Suncar getich of Kenya had all the They saw ... suffering. never adjusted to the time
Dabo, the 5,000-meter runner from Guinea-Bissau who answers. She took the gold “I didn’t know what to ex- change from her home,
stopped his own race to help a struggling competitor fin- medal at world champion- pect,” American Roberta and came out pretending
ish Friday night. ships in 2 hours, 32 minutes, Groner said after making it like it was the middle of the
Dabo held up an exhausted Jonathan Busby and togeth- 43 seconds. It was the slow- through her six laps of hell. afternoon. She took things
er they staggered around the last turn and over the fin- est winning time in three- “The goal was to finish and slow and steady — and fin-
ish line to great applause, even though the other runners and-a-half decades’ worth not hurt myself.” ished sixth.
had crossed 5 minutes earlier. Busby, from Aruba, col- of these events, but one No matter how they spin Consider it a victory.
lapsed onto the track and was placed in a wheelchair that made absolute sense it, the IAAF’s plan to run And really, there were
by medical staff. on this night. the race at night to beat no losers on this night —
“Any athlete in that situation would do the same thing,” “It was not bad for me,” the heat was something only those willing, or crazy
Dabo said through a translator. Chepngetich said. less than a success. As the enough to want to do this
“It was something normal to do, to help someone from For everyone else, miser- federation’s president, Se- on one of the toughest
another country, because (Busby) was representing his able. bastian Coe, paced near nights this sport has ever
country as well.” All Busby said was “thank you,” Dabo The temperature when the finish line, his pink but- seen.
added. Chepngetich crossed the ton-down polo completely Sviatlana Kudzelich of
Both Busby and Dabo are the only athletes from their na- finish line first at 2:34 a.m. sweated through, runner Belarus is a steeplechas-
tions at the world championships. Both men competed was 88 degrees (31 Cel- after runner buckled over, er-turned-marathoner
under special invitations that allow countries without sius). The humidity was 77 or tumbled to the ground, who, halfway through this
strong track programs to send one athlete to the cham- percent. The heat index and had to be placed midnight run, must have
pionships, even if that athlete has not met qualifying stan- was 105 (40). The wind: gingerly into golf carts, or been wondering why she
dards. none. wheelchairs, and transport- switched. She finished
Dabo was far off the pace, and his goal wasn’t to qualify “Those who win, they are ed off the course into the 32nd.
for the final, but just to run a personal best. Dabo’s time — heroes,” Israel’s Lonah Sal- medical tent. But she finished.
nearly five minutes slower than the leader — was officially peter said. “Those who Defending champion Rose “A real accomplishment,”
recorded as a personal best even after stopping to help finish, I tell them they are Chelimo came in 63 sec- she said. “I can’t describe
Busby. But Dabo said he’d been much faster in the past. strong. Even those who onds back of Chepngetich the joy.”
Officially, Busby was disqualified. But the crowd roared for didn’t finish, they’re also to take the silver medal, Neither could Spain’s Mar-
he and Dabo as they crossed the line.q strong. They tried their and Helalia Johannes won ta Galimay.q