Defying Tokyo’s humid conditions and other factors too, Fionnuala McCormack produced her best run on the global stage, storming through to finish ninth in the women’s marathon on the second day at the World Athletics Championships.
McCormack paced her effort to absolution perfection around the streets of Tokyo, and once again proved that age is no barrier to her performance, as the 40-year-old mother of three ran herself into the top 10 for the first time at a global championship.
A year after she also became the first Irish woman to compete in five Olympics, finishing 27th in Paris last summer, McCormack adopted her usual cautious start, sitting back in 33rd after 10km, and in 24th at 20km, which she passed in 1:11.21.
From there she continued to pass runners all the way to the finish, boldly taking advantage of some tough hills on the last approach to the National Stadium, where she crossed the line ninth in 2:30.16.
With a look of delight and satisfaction on her face, McCormack embraced some of the other leading finishers, with a hint of surprise too. It was the second-best finish by an Irish athlete, man or woman, in the World Championship marathon, after Regina Joyce finished seventh in the inaugural championships in Helsinki in 1983, running 2:33.52.
There was a thrilling race for the gold medal, after two of the very best women in the world, Peres Jepchirchir from Kenyan and Tigat Assefa from Ethiopia, ran side-by-side for the last 10km. Assefa made the first move for glory once inside the stadium, before Jepchirchir blew past her down the homestretch, winning in 2:24.43, two seconds ahead of the Ethiopian.
There was absolute delight, and clear surprise too, in the face of Julia Paternain from Uruguay, after she won the bronze medal in 2:27.23. Uruguay had never previously won a World Championship medal of any colour in any event. The 25-year-old Paternain ended that long wait, having pursued her running career in Britain and the US.
McCormack’s performance was outstanding in its own right, coming 18 years after the Wicklow athlete competed in her first World Championships in Osaka, also in Japan, back in 2007, when she ran the 3,000 metres steeplechase.
She also finished seventh in the European Championship marathon in 2022, and fifth in the Chicago marathon in 2019, but this was unquestionably her best marathon performance on the global stage, with no let up in her competitive spirit. She’s next set to race the New York Marathon in November.
In the hammer qualification, Nicola Tuthill made her World Championship debut at age 21, the Cork thrower improving in each of her three rounds. After a first-round effort of 65.43m, she improved to 68.77m, then rose to the pressure of the last round to throw 70.70m.
That ranked her sixth of the Group A qualification, the best there being Silia Kosonen from Finland, who threw 75.88m, and after a long and nervous wait for the Group B qualification to conclude, Tuthill made it to Monday’s final as the 12th and final qualifier, delighting herself in the process too.
With that Tuthill continues to follow in the footsteps of Eileen O’Keeffe, who threw the Irish record of 73.21m in Santry back in 2007, and who finished sixth in the hammer when the 2007 World Championships were staged in Osaka.
Earlier in the morning session, Andrew Coscoran provided another fillip for Irish middle distance after cruising through his 1,500 metres heat. Running in the same humid but overcast conditions inside the National Stadium, Coscoran knew there was no room for any mistake, with only the top six across the four heats progressing – each suitably stacked with world-class runners.
Coscoran had Jakob Ingebrigtsen for company, among others, the Norwegian star racing for the first time in six months. But while Ingebrigtsen was unable to get himself into contention, Coscoran finished safely in sixth place, clocking 3:37.32 – that heat won by Britain’s 2022 World Champion Jake Wightman in 3:36.90.
Ingebrigtsen ended up eighth – “I gave it my all, and it was terrible,” he said – although he still intends to defend his 5,000m title later in the week.
Fellow Dubliner Cathal Doyle lined up in an equally stacked second heat, but he found the pace a little too hot to handle and he ended up 12th, clocking 3:42.60. That heat was won by Pietro Arese from Italy in 3:40.91, with rising Dutch star Niels Laros also cruising through in third.
The two 1,500m semi-finals are set for 1.30pm Irish time on Monday, where again only the top six will progress, but Coscoran has given himself a chance.
Sarah Lavin also had an early morning start in the heats of the 100m hurdles, again with no room for error, as only the top three across the six heats progressed, along with six fastest non-qualifiers.
Despite a shaky start, Lavin kept her cool over the second half of the race and nailed third spot in 12.94 seconds, ensuring her progression – that heat won by Olympic champion Masai Russell from the US in 12.53.
Lavin knows well that coming through the semi-finals will be a tall order, those races also set for Monday’s evening session in Tokyo (1.05pm Irish time), but like Coscoran she’s given herself a chance.
AloJapan.com