Steeplechaser Jeruto plunges into water after gold at Worlds

EUGENE, Oregon (AP):

Steeplechaser Norah Jeruto came up with a cool way to celebrate her victory at the end of a sizzling hot day at the World Athletics Championships.

A pool party. Everyone was invited, too.

The Kenya-born runner, who recently began representing Kazakhstan, moved to the backstretch following her win on Wednesday and took the plunge – straight into the event’s water pit.

A moment later, Jeruto was joined by her two Ethiopian competitors, runner-up Werkuha Getachew and bronze medallist Mekides Abebe. Not wanting to be left out, Legend, the mascot for these championships, jumped in, too.

Jeruto finished in a championship-record eight minutes, 53.02 seconds to hold off Getachew by 1.59 seconds.

“The weather was good here. I enjoyed my race today,” Jeruto said. “At the starting line, I was afraid of my friends from Ethiopia. They are also champions like me, so I was scared of them. I tried my best to win the race and it was not easy. It was tough.”

It was a tough day for Emma Coburn, a two-time world medallist in the event who faded late and finished eighth.

“Disappointing,” Coburn said. “I went for it and it didn’t pay off.”

It was a warm one at Hayward Field, with the temperature hovering around 91 degrees Fahrenheit (33 Celsius). To stay cool, many athletes donned ice vests before competing, wore sunglasses while racing, and wrapped cold towels around their shoulders when they finished.

But Jeruto may have had the best solution – go for a swim and splash around.

SURPRISE WINNER

The steeplechase was one of two events that handed out medals on a night where the stands were far from packed. Feng Bin of China was a surprise winner in the women’s discus, beating runner-up Sandra Perkovic of Croatia and Olympic champion Valarie Allman, who finished with bronze. Feng earned the victory with her first throw.

“Truly, it’s bittersweet,” said Allman, who earned the first world medal in the women’s discus for the United States.

“I just couldn’t find that big throw. It’s good to walk out with a medal,” she said.

Sydney McLaughlin coolly cruised through her semi-final heat of the 400-metre hurdles. Hardly pressed and conserving energy near the finish, the Olympic champion and world-record holder finished in a time of 52.17 seconds at the World Championships on Wednesday night.

That’s fast for never kicking into overdrive.

It might be another sign that her record of 51.41 – set on this track nearly a month ago – could fall yet again. The final is today and includes all three medallists from the Tokyo Games – McLaughlin, silver medallist Dalilah Muhammad, and bronze medallist Femke Bol of the Netherlands.