Gebreslase won women’s marathon with world championship record

The Ethiopian Gotytom Gebreslase won the marathon at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene (Oregon) on Monday with a new world championship record of 2:18:11 hours. She pulled away decisively at 41km and secured gold ahead of Kenya’s Judith Korir (2:18:20) and Israel’s Chemtai Salpeter (2:20:18).

The record at world championships was 2:20:57, set by the British Paula Radcliffe in 2005. Starting at 6.15 am (local time) in front of the Autzen Stadium, the athletes found the temperatures pleasant and they had to complete a loop three times. Defending champion Ruth Chepngetich of Kenya retired at 18km due to stomach problems.