Victor Kiplangat of Uganda executed his game plan to near perfection, pulling away late in the race to win the men’s marathon Sunday on the final day of the world championships.
Kiplangat finished in a time of 2 hours, 8 minutes, 53 seconds. Maru Teferi of Israel took silver in 2:09:12 and Leul Gebresilase of Ethiopia earned bronze in 2:09:19 on a hot day in which the temperature at the end soared to 82 degrees Fahrenheit.
“It was hard today because it was so hot, but I felt comfortable because I prepared well for this weather,” the 23-year-old Kiplangat said. “I always felt I had the power.”
Kiplangat is the first Ugandan champion since Stephen Kiprotich in 2013 and the first non-Ethiopian winner since 2017.
The heat and humidity led to 24 runners not finishing a race that ended in Heroes’ Square, including defending champion Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia, who said he dealt with stomach issues.
“I was trying my best. I was feeling good until 30 kilometers,” Tola said. “After that, I started to have a bad feeling in my stomach.”
The top American finisher was Zach Panning, who finished 13th and 2:28 behind Kiplangat.
The world championships finish with a flurry Sunday night with seven finals. It includes American Athing Mu trying to defend her 800-meter title along with the men’s and women’s 4×400 relays to wrap up the competition in Budapest.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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