Milcah Chemos Wins and Confirms She’s The World’s Best in 2013 – 2013 Brussels Diamond League Women’s Steeplechase Recap
by LetsRun.com
September 6, 2013
2013 World Champion Milcah Chemos of Kenya confirmed she’s the best in the world tonight in the women’s steeple as the Belgacom Memorial Van Damme as she came from behind after the last water jump to get the win in a meeting record of 9:15.07 after a last lap of 66.71. In the process, Chemos won $50,000 – $10,000 for the race and $40,000 for the Diamond League series title.
Heading into tonight’s DL final in Brussels, many distance aficionados wondered if the fall by Ethiopia’s Sofia Assefa in Moscow on the next to last lap had potentially cost her the World title which was won by Chemos. And heading into the last water jump tonight, it sure looked like it as Assefa took the lead from Chemos and seemed to be on her way to victory. But Chemos rallied and came back after clearing the last barrier to get the win.
Assefa ended up second in 9:15.26. Ethiopia’s Hiwot Ayalew, who had beaten Chemos on Tuesday in Zagreb, was third in 9:15.85. Moscow silver medallist Lidya Chepkurui, who needed to beat Chemos to win the DL series title, was in the lead pack of four at the bell but wasn’t a factor on the last lap. She was fourth in 9:21.94.
Quick takes, results and then race photos appear below.
Quick Take (QT) #1: After a season opening loss in Shanghai, Chemos won all of her other races (Rome, Ostrava, Birmingham, Monaco, Nairobi, Moscow and Brussels) except for the hiccup in Zagreb on Tuesday. There’s no doubt that as long as Yuliya Zaripova is out, she’s the best in the world. Her wins generally are close but she keeps on winning.
QT #2: As for Assefa, she’s really good at getting top three and not winning.
Assefa’s 2013 Season Results in the Steeple:
9:14.61 2 Diamond Doha 10 May
9:33.84 3 adidas New York NY 25 May
9:21.24 3 GGala Roma 6 Ju
9:17.97 2 Sainsbury’s Birmingham 30 Jun
9:17.69 2 Athletissima Lausanne 4 Jul
9:36.66 3h1 WC Moskva 10 Aug
9:12.84 SB (3) 3 WC Moskva 13 Aug
QT #3: The full results were as follows:
| RANK | ATHLETE | NATION | RESULT | DIAMOND POINTS | DIAMOND RANKING | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
KEN
|
9:15.06
|
MR
|
20
|
1
|
 |
|
|
2
|
ETH
|
9:15.26
|
12
|
3
|
|||
|
3
|
ETH
|
9:15.85
|
8
|
4
|
|||
|
4
|
KEN
|
9:21.94
|
12
|
2
|
|||
|
5
|
KEN
|
9:24.42
|
|||||
|
6
|
ETH
|
9:28.96
|
3
|
5
|
|||
|
7
|
KEN
|
9:36.66
|
SB
|
||||
|
8
|
GBR
|
9:39.79
|
|||||
|
9
|
ETH
|
9:43.22
|
SB
|
||||
|
10
|
UKR
|
9:47.94
|
|||||
|
11
|
NED
|
9:55.07
|
|||||
|
12
|
KEN
|
9:58.08
|
PB
|
||||
|
KEN
|
DNF
|
1
|
6
|
||||
|
UKR
|
DNF
|
||||||
Photos From Today’s Race (Click on thumbnail for a larger picture).
Assefa leads after last water jump
Chemos gets the narrow win
Chemos celebrates
More from the LRC Vault: Women’s steeplechase coverage from the 2013 IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Moscow