Chepngetich beats Doha heat to win midnight marathon

Athletics - World Athletics Championships - Doha 2019 - Women's Marathon - Doha, Qatar - September 28, 2019 Kenya's Ruth Chepngetich crosses the line to win the race REUTERS/Ibraheem Al Omari

DOHA (Reuters) - Kenya's Ruth Chepngetich overcame extreme heat and humidity to win the world championship midnight marathon on Friday, in a gruelling test of survival that saw nearly a third of the 70 starters fail to reach the finish line.

Chepngetich, who has clocked the third fastest marathon of all-time, did not come close to matching that in the punishing conditions. Her winning time of two hours, 32 minutes, 43 seconds was the slowest ever to win the world championships.