Zhou Chunxiu became China's first marathon medalist in major world championships after winning the silver in Osaka on Sunday.

 

 

Zhou, a surprise winner in this year's London Marathon, led from two kilometers away but the 2003 world champion Catherine Ndereba overtook her and won her second world title in 2:30:37.

 

But a second place finish was enough to make history. Zhou was the first Chinese to win a medal at any Olympic or world championships marathons.

 

Zhou, this year's fastest marathoner with 2:20:38, clocked 2:30:50 in Osaka's sweltering heat. Japan's Reiko Tosa won the bronze in 2:30:55.

 

Zhou has been regarded as a favorite since surprising a strong field to win the London marathon last April. The 28-year-old was fifth in the last world run. She was a distant 33rd in the Athens Olympics.

 

The race started at 7 AM local time to avoid the heat that has bothered athletes at the championships. Temperatures reached 31 degrees Celsius with humidity at 52 percent as the leaders approached the finish.

 

Zhou complained about an ankle injury and the weather after the race.

 

"At the end, the last two kilometers, my foot started to hurt. One week before coming to the championships I hurt the inner side of my right ankle in China. I went for treatment and the injury got better. But this is one of the reasons why at the end I could not stick to Catherine Ndereba," she explained.

"The other reason is the weather here. Catherine was very strong today. It feels just OK to have the silver medal."

But she is confident that she can do better at next year's Beijing Olympic Games.

 

"Now, I will go back to China and rest. This was my last big competition for this year. In 2008, at the Olympic Games, everything will work in favor of me because China is my home country."

 

Zhou's silver is China's third medal in the world championships. Liu Xiang won a gold in the men's 110m hurdles and Zhang Wenxiu took a bronze in the women's hammer throw.

 

(Xinhua News Agency September 3, 2007)