2011 World Championships in Athletics – Women's marathon

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The women’s marathon at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics took place on August 27, starting and finishing at Gukchae-bosang Memorial Park. A total of 54 runners from 23 nations started the race.

The fastest entrants were Edna Kiplagat of Kenya, who had won the 2010 New York City Marathon and finished third in London in April 2011. She was joined by Priscah Jeptoo (the 2011 Paris champion) and Aselefech Mergia of Ethiopia (Dubai winner) as the three leading contenders. Other strong runners included Sharon Cherop, Bezunesh Bekele, and Atsede Baysa from Ethiopia, Yoshimi Ozaki leading Japan’s team, plus Sweden’s Isabella Andersson and China’s Zhou Chunxiu and Zhu Xiaolin. Reigning champion Bai Xue and the 2008 Olympic champion Constantina Diţă-Tomescu did not compete, and the year’s two fastest runners, Mary Keitany and Liliya Shobukhova, were absent.

After about 30 kilometers, a group of 19 stayed in the lead, but a Kenyan trio—Kiplagat, Jeptoo, and Cherop—pulled away. With about 5 kilometers to go, Kiplagat and Cherop collided at the drinks station. Kiplagat fell, Cherop paused to wait, and both resumed running. Kiplagat went on to win the gold for Kenya (the first medal of the championships for the country), with Jeptoo and Cherop finishing second and third. Bezunesh Bekele finished fourth seven seconds later, and Japan’s Yukiko Akaba completed the top five.

The race also counted as the IAAF World Marathon Cup team event. Kenya easily won the team title, with China and Ethiopia taking silver and bronze. This was the first time Japanese women had failed to win a team medal since the event began in 1997.