SAPPORO (Japan) -- An unusual sight was observed along the women's marathon track at the Tokyo Olympics. These were actual fans. Cheering, too.A more familiar view is at the end -- a Kenyan racer leading.Peres Jepchirchir was able to run through the streets of Sapporo in the heat and humidity, despite being more than 500 miles north from Tokyo, to a finish of 1-2 Kenyans in the women's race.Jepchirchir won Saturday's race in 2 hours, 27 mins, 20 seconds. It was not fast, but it was still impressive considering the conditions.To avoid heat, the start was delayed an hour. A few spectators lined the course applauded the Tokyo Games as they headed north for the marathons. Jepchirchir's partner Brigid Kosgei came in second, while American Molly Seidel took home bronze.ResultsJepchirchir, the man who won back-to-back Olympic golds for Kenya, said "I'm going too hot." It was great, despite the challenges of the weather.The general thought is: Thank God for the time change. Seidel was eating dinner when she learned the news.She said, "My jaw just dropped." "I immediately got up, and went to bed."One race, which was relocated to Sapporo in order to escape the extreme heat and humidity of Tokyo, found little relief along a winding route through the city. Under a sunny sky, and at 77 degrees, the starter's gun went off around 6 a.m. Near the end, it reached nearly 86°F with humidity around 65%.Kosgei, who held the world record at 2:14.04 said that "the weather was really hot" and that it was difficult for him to win. "We did our best to finish."The field included 88 runners, and 15 of them did not finish. Ruth Chepngetich, a Kenyan world champion, was among those who finished.Lonah Salpeter, an Israeli runner, seemed to be suffering from the weather late in race. With just 4 km to go, she stopped abruptly and walked to the side. She was still on the finish line, 21 minutes behind.This day was pretty much predicted by Seidel when she was a child. She wrote to herself in fourth grade a note about her goals: To make the Olympics.You can even get a gold medal.It was so satisfying to be able to reach bronze. It was also surprising, considering it was only her third marathon.She was so excited to cross the finish line, and she said "Hi" into the camera to her dad and mom.Seidel, a Wisconsin native, said that he came into the meeting with little expectations. "I had hoped to be among the top 10.""Just trying to stick my nose where it wasn't supposed to be and just sort of get after it. You might as well get your shot, the Olympics only happen once every four years.Yellow shirts-wearing volunteers stood on the course, holding signs that loosely translated to: "Refrain From Watching Here." However, spectators lined up along the course to catch a glimpse of the action.They applauded.Seidel stated, "It's exciting to go down and see people cheering as well as people with flags out."The runners tried to keep cool in every way possible. Aleksandra Lisowska from Poland took a whole bag of water and drank one before pouring the next one over her head. Andrea Deeltstra, a Dutch woman, had a bag of ice on her head.Aliphine Tuliamuk, a woman from the United States, was back racing after she gave birth to her baby girl in January. She didn't finish due to a nagging hip ailment.It was her moment of gold: picking up her daughter from her stroller at the end of the race.Some of these competitors were able to experience the heat and humidity of Doha's 2019 world championships. The race was held at midnight, with temperatures still reaching 88 degrees. Nearly 30 runners failed to reach the finish line, and Chepngetich won gold.Chepngetich was still in the mix Saturday, until the end of the race, when she started walking.Jepchirchir, Kosgei and their team worked together until Jepchirchir made her move. Kenya won two medals in the women's Olympic marathon. This was the most medals of any country."I kept pushing the pace and when I opened the gap it was like, "Wow, I'm going make it. Jepchirchir declared, "I'm going to win."
