BEIJING (AP) — With the heavily favored Kenyans wiped out of the men’s marathon on Saturday, it came down to Olympic champions Jessica Ennis-Hill and David Rudisha to restore some normalcy on the opening day of the world championships.
Rudisha, one of the many great runners on the Kenyan team, led from start to finish with his majestic stride in full motion to reach the semifinals of the 800 meters.
And after the marathon setback early in the day, Rudisha was glad to see all three Kenyans advance in his event.
“This is a boost for morale,” Rudisha said.
Rudisha set a world record at the 2012 London Olympics but has been slowed by injury since, turning the worlds in Beijing into his biggest event in three years. The semifinals are set for Sunday.
Instead of injury, Ennis-Hill took a break from the heptathlon to become a mother last year, and also has been struggling to find her best form this season.
On a morning when most favorites were off their best, Ennis-Hill rode runner-up finishes in the 100-meter hurdles and the high jump to take the early lead in the seven-event competition. British teammate Katarina Johnson-Thompson was second and favorite Brianne Theisen-Eaton was back in fifth place after a disappointing showing in the high jump.
Ennis-Hill failed to repeat her high marks from the 2012 London Olympics but still scored 2,192 points, an edge of 30 points over Johnson-Thompson. Nadine Visser of the Netherlands was in third place with 2,131 points after she won the opening 100 hurdles race.
The two-day competition continues with the shot put and the 200 meters later Saturday. The last three events are on Sunday.
While Britain could start thinking of two medals in the heptathlon, Kenya saw its dream of a marathon sweep wilting in the morning sun in the 42.2-kilometer run from Tiananmen Square to the Bird’s Nest.
World-record holder Dennis Kimetto and Kenyan teammate Wilson Kipsang dropped out of the race while Mark Korir finished 22nd, leaving gold to Eritrean teenager Ghirmay Ghebreslassie.
“We had a lot of hope of course in the marathon,” Rudisha said of his distance-running teammates. “We know our guys are good.”
In a slow race that should have favored the experienced Kenyan veterans, it was a 19-year-old novice running in his third marathon that prevailed to become the youngest man to win the event at the world championships.
Ghebreslassie finished in 2 hours, 12 minutes, 27 seconds, holding off Yemane Tsegay of Ethiopia by 40 seconds. Munyo Solomon Mutai of Uganda was third.
In other morning events, the favorites for Saturday’s women’s shot put final both qualified on their first attempt. Throwing in front of her Chinese fans at the Bird’s Nest, Gong Lijiao tossed 19.11 meters, well beyond the qualifying mark of 18.30. Christina Schwanitz of Germany did even better with a throw of 19.39 to advance to the evening final.
Gong is looking to give the host nation a strong start at the worlds with a gold medal on the opening day after she finished fifth at the Olympics in the same stadium seven years ago. Since then, Gong took bronze at the London Olympics and 2013 worlds.
Valerie Adams of New Zealand won the last four world titles but withdrew ahead of the championships following an insufficient recovery from surgery on her throwing arm last September.
In the women’s 1,500, favorite Genzebe Dibaba set the top time in qualifying. The final is on Sunday.
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AP Sports Writers John Pye and Pat Graham contributed to this report.
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