In Belgrade

So lofty are Kenya’s athletics standards that emerging gold-less from any world championship would be regarded as a disastrous performance.

Never mind that Noah Kibet’s silver in the 800 metres on Saturday and Abel Kipsang’s bronze in the 1,500m here last night is an “upgrade” from the lone bronze panned by Betwell Birgen in the 3,000 metres at the last competition in 2018 in Birmingham, England.

Kipsang had been left with the unenviable task of upsetting Norwegian world record holder Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Ethiopia’s defending champion Samuel Tefera in Kenya’s final event of the championship, the 1,500m final, Sunday night.

The Norwegian - fresh from running a world indoor record 3:30.60 clocked in Lievin, France – was expected to take gold, but Tefera piled the pressure on the Olympic champion to retain his title in brilliant fashion with a championship record of 3:32.77, beating compatriot Haile Gebrselassie’s previous mark.

Kipsang had hit the front first in traditional fashion but allowed Ingebrigtsen to squeeze through, Tefera bidding his time to kick to gold.

Earlier, Daniel Simiu and Jacob Krop’s assault on Ethiopia’s 3,000 metres stranglehold came a cropper with Selemon Barega and Lamecha Girma completing a 1-2 finish for the boys from Addis Ababa and Great Britain’s Marc Scott sneaking in to deny the Kenyans a podium place, taking a shock bronze.

The 1,500m result left Ethiopia unrivalled at the top of the medals table with nine medals (four gold, three silver and two bronze), USA having panned just two gold medals in their tally of 16 that included seven silver and as many bronze.

The men’s 3,000m final was, as expected, a see-saw affair between the Kenyans and Ethiopians with Barega, the Olympic 10,000m champion, hitting the front early, with Simiu in tow and Krop lying fifth.

At 800m, Krop then moved to the front, with the clock reading two minutes, 4.06 seconds, as Barega dropped to third behind Simiu.

Morocco’s Zouhair Talbi led through from 1,200m (3:08.15), pulling the field to the halfway mark before Simiu again hit the front.

But Barega timed his race to perfection at the Štark Arena, kicking when it mattered most to take gold in 7:41.38 with Girma (7:41.63) coming in second and Scott closing out the Kenyan challenge to steal the bronze medal in 7:42.02.

Simiu (7:42.97) and Krop (7:43.26) finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

Barega said they came to Belgrade to defend Ethiopia’s pedigree in distance running and that they worked as a team with his good indoor season this year further helping the cause.

“With Girma (silver medalist) we discussed the possibility to do the team work to help each other to make the podium. Our tactic has paid off,” the man who struck his first global gold at the 2017 World Under-18 Championships at Kasarani, said.

“It was a tough race in which we were focused mostly on the Kenyan guys. I decided to lead the race from the beginning because too many runners in our final are the 1500m specialists.

Simiu said he will live to fight another day.

“I must thank God for finishing fourth… I’ve never finished fourth at a championship, and next time I promise to be at the top,” he said adding that he will regroup for the 5,000m to challenge Barega outdoors at the World Championships in Eugene, USA, in July.

“I will now go back to the drawing board and focus on the World Championships or Commonwealth Games… I’m still thirsty for that gold medal and I know that, one day, God will answer my prayers.

“This is not the first time I’m competing against Barega… He’s a good guy and we always compete together and I know one day I will beat him.”

Krop said he was suffering the effects of his fall in the heats that left him with a bruised knee but vowed to return outdoors.

“The race was good but I felt some pain in my knee as a result of my fall in qualifying,” the 20-year-old Krop said.

“I’m still nursing the knee slowly and I hope I will be ready in time for the World Championships where I will focus on the 5,000m,” said Krop who was sixth at the last outdoor World Championships in 2019 in Doha.

Shortly after the men’s 3,000m final, the Štark Arena witnessed a world indoor record in the women’s triple jump where Venezuelan sensation and defending champion Yulimar Rojas leapt to 15.74 to take the gold medal.

At last year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo, Rojas also won gold with a world outdoor record jump of 15.67 metres. She becomes the first woman to win the world indoor triple jump record three times.

South Korea’s Sanghyeok Woo stunned Olympic champion, Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi, to take gold with a height of 2.34m.

Selected leading results from the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade on Sunday:

Men’s 3,000m:
1.    Selemon Barega (Ethiopia) 7:41.38
2.    Lamecha Girma (Ethiopia) 7:41.63
3.    Marc Scott (Great Britain) 7:42.02
4.    Daniel Simiu (Kenya) 7:42.97
5.    Jacob Krop (Kenya) 7:43.26
6.    Zouhair Talbi (Morocco) 7:43.45

Men’s 1,500m:
1.    Samuel Tefera (Ethiopia) 3:32.77
2.    Jakob Ingebrigtsen (Norway) 3:33.02
3.    Abel Kipsang (Kenya) 3:33.36
4.    Teddese Lemi (Ethiopia) 3:33.59

Women’s 800m:
1.    Ajee Wilson (USA) 1:59.09
2.    Freweyni Hailu (Ethiopia) 2:00.54
3.    Halimah Nakaayi (Uganda) 2:00.66

Women’s triple jump:
1.    Yulimar Rojas (Venezuela) 15.74m (world indoor record)
2.    Maryana Bekh-Romanchuk (Ukraine) 14.74m
3.    Kimberly Williams (Jamaica) 14.59.

Men’s high jump:
1.    Sanghyeok Woo (South Korea) 2.34m
2.    Loic Gasch (Switzerland) 2.31m
3.    Gianmarco Tamberi (Italy) 2.31m
4.    Hamish Kerr (New Zealand) 2.31m.