Chepkoech smashes steeplechase world record

MONTE CARLO: Kenya’s Beatrice Chepkoech obliterated the world record in the women’s 3,000 metres steeplechase by more than eight seconds in a stunning Monaco Diamond League athletics meeting on Friday.Six other season leading performances were set or tied in the meet.Already the fastest in the world this year, Chepkoech, 27, won in a time of eight minutes 44.32 seconds to break the previous record mark of 8 minutes 52.78 set by Bahrain’s Ruth Jebet in 2016.Chepkoech, whose previous best time was 8:59.36 in Paris last month, finished fourth in both the 2016 Rio Olympics and 2017 London World Championships.American world silver medallist Courtney Frerichs took second in a North American record of 9:00.85.American Noah Lyles, meanwhile, added a personal best in the 200m, running 19.65 seconds for another season-leading performance.In other world leading runs for 2018, Bahamian Olympic 400m champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo ran a lifetime best 48.97 seconds, Botswana’s Nijel Amos won the 800m in 1:42.14 and Kenyan Timothy Cheruiyot clocked 3:28.41 in the 1,500m.Moroccan world silver medallist Soufiane El Bakkali took the men’s steeplechase in 7:58.15 and Russia’s Danil Lysenko equalled the season’s best in the high jump with a leap of 2.40 metres.Olympic and world champion Caster Semenya continued her dominance of the women’s 800m, winning her 26th consecutive final in 1:54.60. The South African has not lost over the distance since 2015.

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