BEIJING -  It was a thrilling finish in the women’s World Championship marathon Sunday morning in Beijing, as four women entered the Bird’s Nest stadium stride for stride with just 100m to go until the finish. 25-year-old Ethiopian Mare Dibaba would end up the narrow victor in 2:27:35, with just one second of room between herself and Kenya’s Helah Kiprop in 2:27:36. The margin of victory was the smallest in World Championship marathon history.

Ethiopia's Mare Dibaba sprinted away from Kenyan Helah Kiprop in the final meters of the 26.2 mile race

Bahrain’s Eunice Kirwa won the bronze in 2:27:39, followed by Kenya’s Jemima Sumgong in 4th in 2:27:42. Two-time defending champion Edna Kiplagat was 5th today in 2:28:18.

 

Dibaba’s gold marks the first time that Ethiopia has won the World Marathon title. Previously, the nation’s top finish in this event was bronze by Aselefech Mergia back in 2009. 

 

The pace was pedestrian throughout a majority of the contest, which was to be expected in a championship race. The pack reached the mid-point in 1:15, but it wasn’t until around the 2-hour mark that a large group was cut down to less than 10 women. 

 

At 2:07 in, a big contender was dropped as 2015 London Marathon champion Tigist Tufa started to fall back. This left the three Kenyans, Kiprop, Sumgong, and Kiplagat, as well as Kirwa and Dibaba to duke it out for the medals. 

 

The next victim was a shocking one, as two-time defending World champion Edna Kiplagat could not keep contact by 40K, which the leaders hit in 2:20:38. From there, it was a battle between four women, with no one separating by the time they reached the tunnel to enter the stadium.

 

A hard move by the tiny Dibaba, whose 2:19:52 at the Xiamen Marathon is the fastest run this year, finally broke her competitors, but not until the very last moment as she won gold as the crowd roared, having witnessed the most exciting finish possible in a 26.2 mile race. 

 

The Americans were led by Serena Burla’s tenth place finish in 2:31:06.