The female record holder gave up after more than 1km at the London Marathon
Kosgei has been crowned five times in majors, currently holds the female world record with 2 hours 14 minutes 4 seconds when she won the 2019 Chicago Marathon. She belongs to the group of 10 elite sub2:10 runners that are expected to heat up the track. of the London Marathon women's professional content on April 23.
At the press conference before the major in the UK on April 21, Kosgei revealed that she is having a bit of a hamstring and knee problem. However, the 29-year-old athlete feels "the problem is not serious" and is still confident that he will burn out with his competitors on the track.
However, right after the start, Kosgei's pain gradually worsened. She hobbled a bit and then slowly went down to the end of the group. When the live broadcast came about three minutes after the start signal, the world record holder fell far behind. Kosgei then gave up, left the track, stepped onto the sidewalk to wait for the medical team to assist.
Without Kosgei, the women's race on the remaining leg is still intense. Another Kenyan runner, Peres Jepchirchir led most of the time, with compatriot Judith Korir and Ethiopian runner Alemu Megertu in constant pursuit. But when victory seemed to be firmly in the hands of one of these three running legs, Sifan Hassan from behind sped up spectacularly.
Hassan, 30, is the 5,000m and 10,000m Olympic champion, never running a marathon before the race in London. She was only 10th after the first 5km, in a time of 16 minutes 13 seconds. Halfway there, this Ethiopian Dutch runner just went up a notch. At the 30km mark, she ranked seventh, behind the leading group.
But when he reached the 40km mark, Hassan surpassed the London Marathon champion Yalemzerf Yehualaw to squeeze into the top 4. After trying to follow for nearly 2 kilometers, Hassan made a spectacular sprint in the last 500 meters to finish first, with 2 hours 18 minutes. 33 seconds, faster than Megertu, Jepchirchir four and five seconds respectively.
"I had a bit of a problem with my hip and tried to relieve the pain before the race. But on the run today, I tried to forget it and felt nothing for the first 20km. I can't believe I won, won the championship. The London Marathon is amazing, I feel like I just won the Olympics," Hassan said after the race.
According to Canadian Running Magazine, Hassan's win "is truly remarkable, considering that she has to train through the Muslim month of Ramadan and not eat or drink during the day".
