Jemima Montag finishes 10th in the world
Published Mon 30 Sep 2019
On Day Three of the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019, organisers delayed the start time of the women's 20km race walk by 29minutes, to 23:59, to "attain the best possible conditions for athletes.”
The feeling amongst the world’s best athletes over the last two days has been that just to complete the endurance events (the marathon, plus the 50km and 20km racewalks), which are taking place along the waterfront of Doha's Corniche, would require a monumental effort of grit and courage.
Indeed, 28 runners withdrew from the women's marathon on Friday night due to the brutal conditions, followed by 14 men and six women dropping out of the 50km race walk on Saturday evening.
Racewalkers Katie Hayward and Jemima Montag admirably took on the energy sapping humidity and debilitating heat in the Qatari capital late on Sunday.
The race was dominated by the Chinese athletes, who swept the podium. Despite falling over early, Montag pushed hard to stay with the lead group throughout the entire race and came home in an impressive 10th place, clocking 1:36.54.
Speaking after, the 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medallist said: “Thanks to the expertise around us we were very well prepared for the conditions, so it did ease the pain a little. It was really different to any race I’ve done before, it was one about patience and holding back, rather than chasing.
“This was my first World Champs, so there were a lot of unknown factors, including that it was at midnight and in this heat and humidity. Looking ahead to Tokyo, which is going to be similarly hot and humid, it does instil some confidence that my body can withstand these conditions. If we do similar preparation and learn from the last nine-months, Tokyo could be another success.”
Sadly, in her first World Championships, 19-year-old Hayward, the 2019 World University Games gold medallist, was shown her fourth red card and was disqualified just before the 7km mark.
It’s a night of finals for Athletics Australia tomorrow, with Stewy McSweyn (5000m), Matthew Denny (Discus) and Gen Gregson (3000m steeple chase) all looking to step onto their respective podiums.
Plus, Kelsey-Lee Barber will be entering the fray for the first time at Doha 2019 in the Javelin and will hope to make short work of qualifying for Tuesday’s final. Whilst out on the track, Bendere Oboya (400m) and Nick Hough (110m hurdles) will look to get through their heats and progress onto the semi-finals.
Tomorrow’s action starts at 16:30 (23:30 AEST), and will be broadcast live and exclusively on Eurosport Australia (Foxtel) from 23:25 - 02:00 (AEST).
