Jess Trengove was inspired by footage of the late Kerryn McCann IF Jess Trengove continues like this, her little brother Jack, captain of the Melbourne Demons AFL club, will have to share the family sporting spotlight on a permanent basis. The 25-year-old Trengove, running only her third marathon, recorded the best result by an Australian woman at the world championships in Moscow on the weekend, finishing 11th in brutally hot and humid weather. One-third of the field (23 runners) failed to finish the race, scheduled in the unrelenting mid-afternoon heat to suit the Japanese television audience. The pint-sized South Australian began conservatively in the testing conditions but worked her way through the field and had broken into the top 20 by the 30km mark. She continued to pass fading runners to move to the fringe of the top 10, crossing the line in 2hrs 37min 11sec. Trengove has made a meteoric rise through the sport since qualifying for last year's London Olympics in her marathon debut in Nagoya, Japan. As the third Commonwealth athlete to finish in Moscow, she has now stamped herself as a medal contender in the event for next year's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Kenya's Edna Kiplagat became the first woman to defend the world title, winning in 2:25.44 from early pacemaker Veria Straneo of Italy (2:25.58) and Japan's Kayoko Fukushi (2:27.45). Trengove entered the stadium about 10 minutes later with a huge smile on her face. "That was my first stadium finish, so I was pumped," she said. It's pretty exciting when you know you're up there near the top 10. It was tough conditions but my aim was not to get passed in the second half and run through the field and that's what I did. The late Kerryn McCann was Australia's best performer in this event (15th in 1995) until this breakthrough. Trengove said she hadn't even decided to become a distance runner when McCann had her great triumph, winning gold at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. I idolise guys like Deek and Moneghetti. Robert De Castella congratulated Trengove through Twitter yesterday. Trengove promises there is more to come as she gains international experience.