Gebreslase of Ethiopia finishes strong, wins world marathon

By PAT GRAHAM
AP Sports Writer

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Gotytom Gebreslase of Ethiopia patiently tucked behind her Kenyan rival until late in the race before surging ahead and sprinting to the win in the women’s marathon at the world championships. Gebreslase finished in a championship-record time of 2 hours, 18 minutes, 11 seconds. She held off Kenya’s Judith Jeptum Korir by nine seconds. Lonah Chemtai Salpeter of Israel earned bronze. Sara Hall led a strong showing by the Americans with a fifth-place finish. It’s now back-to-back wins for Ethiopia in the world marathon on the streets of Eugene and Springfield. Tamirat Tola won the day before in a championship-record time as well.