Kenyan teenager Celliphine Chespol, after temporarily losing a shoe on the penultimate lap, recovered to run the second-fastest women’s 3,000m steeplechase ever at the Prefontaine Classic Diamond League meeting on Friday.
The 18-year-old needed to stop and reattach the shoe with about 550m to run, then roared to victory in 8 minutes, 58.78 seconds.
Only Bahrain’s Ruth Jebet, whose world record is 8 minutes, 52.78 seconds, has run faster.
Photo: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY
“It was difficult, but I try my best,” Chespol said. “I’m happy of course.”
The world youth and under-20 champion improved her personal best by almost six seconds. She had run 9 minutes, 05.7 seconds three weeks ago in Doha.
Compatriot Beatrice Chepkoech claimed second in 9 minutes, 0.7 seconds, with Jebet third almost three seconds adrift of Chepkoech.
Photo: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY
Ethiopian Genzebe Dibaba ran away with the women’s 5,000m, but was well off her sister Tirunesh’s world record, which she had hoped to break.
Dibaba, running solo for nearly half the race, finished in 14 minutes, 25.22 seconds, far behind Tirunesh’s 2008 record of 14 minutes, 11.15 seconds.
“I’m happy that I won, but I’m not happy about the time,” Dibaba said through an interpreter. “The pace was real slow and I’m not happy with how we started. We lost time in the first 3,000m and it was hard to come back after that.”
Kenyan Lilian Rengeruk took second in 14 minutes, 36.8 seconds, with Dutch runner Sifan Hassan third in 14 minutes, 41.24 seconds.
Rio de Janeiro Olympic silver medalist Brittney Reese delivered the first 7m leap of the outdoor season to win the long jump.
Reese, the London Olympic champion, hit 7.01m on her second attempt to outduel fellow American and Rio winner Tianna Bartoletta, who leaped 6.83m.
“I was really pleased,” Reese said. “The goal was to come out and jump seven meters. I feel like I’m headed in the right direction.”
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