DOHA (Reuters) – One runner competing in the women’s marathon that took place in scorching heat and high humidity in the middle of the night was hospitalized following the event but later released, the IAAF said on Saturday.
The global governing body of athletics said the athlete, whose identity was not disclosed, had been kept under observation in hospital while 30 other runners sought precautionary medical treatment after the race.
There were no cases of heat stroke among the 68 competitors, “despite very challenging weather conditions for endurance events,” the IAAF said in a statement.
“In the women’s marathon 68 competitors started and 40 finished – which is comparable to the completion rate at previous World Championships in Tokyo (1991) and Moscow (2013),” the IAAF added.
Some marathon runners said they thought the race should not have been run because of the extreme weather conditions.
The IAAF also said the men’s and women’s 50km race walking events starting at 23:30 on Saturday would go ahead as planned. The temperature is expected to be at or below 29 degrees Celsius, it said.
(Reporting by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber; Editing by David Holmes)
