15-year old Cherotich Kipkorir Ruto (KEN) proved today that one doesn’t need good shoes to become a World Champion. She in fact needed no shoes at all.
Impressive in both the heats and the semi finals, Ruto decided to take the lead from the start of the race today.
Going through 200 metres in 28.92, Ruto was followed by Germany’s Doreen Klose who would eventually pay for her efforts and finish in a disappointing 7th place.
At the bell, reached in 1:00.07, Ruto had already made the break from the rest of the field with Czech Republic’s Veronika Plesarova and Russia’s Anna Alminova, who had the best personal best of the finalists before today’s race.
Pushing hard in the back straight, Ruto’s lead improved to 5 metres as Alminova was loosing ground.
Great Britain’s Danielle Barnes made her move then but was unable to threaten Plesarova’s second place.
The final sprint for silver and bronze ended up being a battle between Plesarova, Barnes and Jamaica’s Carlene Robinson who had till then remained in the group.
Ruto crossed the line for what seemed an easy victory in a new personal best and championships record of 2:05.50.
Plesarova managed to keep a slight advantage for second place and crossed the line in 2:06.01 while Robinson’s last strides guaranteed her the bronze medal with a time of 2:06.18. Barnes who was outsprinted in the very last metres finished fourth in 2:06.51
The first four of this race established new personal bests.
