OSAKA — For nine glorious days, new world champions are being crowned at Nagai Stadium.
Kenya's Janeth Jepkosgei exults as she crosses the finish line to win the 800-meter final at Osaka's
Nagai Stadium on Tuesday night. Jepkosgei won in a time of 1 minute, 56.04 seconds.
AP PHOTO These are days when ex-champions must cope with the reality that they'll have to wait two more years — or never — to regain their title.
Mozambique's Maria Mutola, one of the most decorated women's middle-distance runners of all time, experienced the pain of not winning a title on Tuesday night in the women's 800 final.
The 34-year-old, a three-time world champ who captured back-to-back titles in 2001 and 2003, pulled out of the race with about 100 meters remaining. It appears she had muscle cramps in her legs.
An official diagnosis was unavailable at press time.
Kenya's Janeth Jepkosgei, a striking beauty with an equally stunning performance, secured the gold medal with a time of 1 minute, 56.04 seconds at the 2007 IAAF World Athletics Championships. It was the No. 1 time in the world for 2007.
Morocco's Hasna Benhassi took second in 1:56.99. The bronze went to Spain's Mayte Martinez, who had a personal-best time of 1:57.62.
Jepkosgei was the early pace-setter. She finished the first lap in 56.16.
Mutola was in fourth after the first lap, but in a comfortable position to make a strong push at the end for a title bid.
She pushed herself to the second spot near the midway point of the second lap, but was overtaken by Benhassi.
Mutola, again showing a veteran's desire to become a champion once more, exerted great effort to try to catch Benhassi and Jepkosgei.
But it didn't happen.
Mutola's ambitions ended as abruptly as a sneeze.
Mutola left the track, moving to her left slowly and grimacing in pain.
Benhassi secured the second spot, Martinez the third. Then the Kenyan zoomed to the win, flashing a billion-yen smile seconds later.
For Mutola, it was a stark contrast from the beginning.
When it started, a look of fierce determination appeared on her face. She exhaled deeply before taking her starting position in Lane 7.
And then the race began.
Afterward, another racer had a glorious answer for a reporter's request to sum up her feelings.
Jepkosgei repeated the words "I'm so happy" throughout her post-race interview inside the stadium as cameras flashed in the night.
Moments earlier, Kenyans worldwide celebrated the nation's 1-2-3 finish in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase.
Mutola ran the seventh-fastest 800 of all time on Aug. 17, 1994 (1:55.19).
As a 16-year-old, Mutola was the fourth-place finisher at the 1991 World Championships in Tokyo, placing 0.05 seconds behind the bronze medalist.
There was no celebration for the Mozambique legend on this night.
Instead, an unexpected ending to her championship aspiration produced two emotions: physical pain and tears of disappointment.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.