Athletics | Kenyan runner Kirui wins men’s marathon title at worlds

Geoffrey Kirui took a quick glance over his shoulder, just to see if his nearest competitor was possibly closing the gap. Nobody remotely in sight. This was a runaway.

Kirui bided his time and saved his strength for a late surge that helped him win the men’s marathon in convincing fashion yesterday at the world championships. He became the fifth Kenyan man to win the marathon title at the worlds.

“This is the best moment of my career, easily,” said Kirui, who also won the Boston Marathon in April.

The 24-year-old Kirui had such a big lead he spent the last part of the race waving to the crowd as he made his way across the finish line on Tower Bridge. He won in 2 hours, 8 minutes, 27 seconds — 1:22 ahead of Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia. Alphonce Simbu of Tanzania finished third.

“I was very, very prepared well for this race,” Kirui said.

That’s why he resisted the temptation to chase after Tola when the Ethiopian made a move in the latter stages of the race. Kirui was betting that Tola wouldn’t be able to hold that pace to the finish. MDT/AP

In a shocker, bolt takes third at worlds

Usain Bolt finished third in the 100-meter dash at world championships. Not one, but two overlooked and underappreciated Americans — Justin Gatlin and Christian Coleman — withstood what was once Bolt’s undeniable late charge. A bronze-medal finish Saturday night in the going-away party for one of the planet’s most entertaining icons and track and field’s lone shining star. “No regrets,” Bolt insisted, long after a result that stunned a pumped-up crowd into near silence. “It was always going to end, no matter what happened — win, lose or draw. It doesn’t change anything in my career.”