NEW DELHI, October 8 – Kenyan Olympic champion Nancy Langat added another title to her bulging collection bu breezing to the Commonwealth Games 1,500m gold medal on Friday in a new Games record time of 4:05.26.With English defending champion Lisa Dobriskey opting out of Delhi with an injury, Langat was always going to be a favourite and she didn’t disappoint, shaving the previous record set by fellow Kenyan Jackline Maranga in 1998.
New Zealand’s Nikki Hamblin won the silver in 4:05.97 and Scotland’s Stephanie Twell, sixth behind Langat at the Beijing Olympics, took the bronze in 4:06.15.
Ahead of the Games, Langat was quoted as saying her season ended with the recent Continental Cup race in Croatia and that she would be in Delhi for a holiday.
It didn’t show as she timed her race to perfection.
Her teammate Irene Jelagat led the field through the opening two laps before Langat, one of the few Olympic champions in Delhi, made her move at the bell.
Hamblin and Twell gave her a run for her money, but they were never going to catch her down the final straight.
"It’s a great achievement. I was so excited when I crossed the line. I thank God that I won gold and I am so proud of myself and I love my country," she said, insisting she had prepared properly for the championships.
"I was fully prepared for these championships. I was not expecting to set a championships record but I thank God that I did," she said, adding that had yet to decide if she would also run the 800m.
"So far I am not fully decided because of my knee injury," she said.
Hamblin said she was exhausted after a difficult race in hot and huid conditions.
"I am just so so tired. With 100m left I looked at the screen and I saw them coming. I just held them off at the end," she said.
Twell attributed her bronze medal to being relaxed.
"Today I ran with a lot of passion and heart. I was not thinking about it the final — I just kept going," she said.
"I have always been known for not finishing strong but this time I did."
