The World Championships in China saw the emergence of a new marathon champion not yet twenty years old – Eritrean runner Ghirmay Ghebreslassie, who gave Eritrea its first ever marathon gold after covering the 42km-plus distance in two hours and twelve minutes, writing his country’s name in gold letters at the World Championships by winning the marathon – the first gold in his country’s World Championships history, after Eritrea had won only a silver at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin. Although the young Ghirmay’s win came as a surprise to everyone, he announced himself afterwards, saying he had expected to win the marathon, unlike everyone else, who had not expected his victory in the race.
