Kenyans on parade in Ostrava
Kenya's Faith Kipyegon celebrates after winning the women's 1000 metres event during the Diamond League Athletics Meeting at The Louis II Stadium in Monaco on August 14, 2020.
What you need to know:
- Taki battles world 1,500m bronze medallist Marcin Lewandowski (Poland), and two-time World Indoor 3,000m champion Yomif Kejelcha (Ethiopia).
- “I’ve trained well in Kericho and I am in great shape. By virtue of the entries, it will be a tough race,” Taki said.
Olympics 1,500 metres champion Faith Chepng’etich and Commonwealth 800m title holder Wycliffe Kinyamal will be in action at the 59th Ostrava Golden Spike in Czech Republic Tuesday night.
Chepngétich will be competing in her third race of the season, but her first race in her specialty. She won the 1,000m races in Monaco and Brussels Diamond League races in which she nearly broke the world record.
The 2019 world 1,500m silver medallist is the favourite to win as world record holder, Ethiopian Genzebe Dibaba, will be missing in action.
Chepng’etich will face off with rapidly improving Briton Jemma Reekie and Winnie Nanyondo who holds the Ugandan record.
Chepngétich chalked a meeting record time of two minutes, 29.92 seconds in Brussels last Friday. Earlier, she had set a new Diamond League and Africa record when winning in Monaco in 2:29.15 on August 14. She fell short of the record by just 17 100th of a second.
The 1,000m world record of 2:28.98 was set by Russia’s double Olympics champion Svetlana Masterkova on the same track in 1996.
Britain’s Laura Muir, who has produced the season’s two fastest 1,500m times, has avoided Chepngétich and will compete in 800m in Ostrava. Muir won in Oslo Diamond League race in 3:57.86 before posting 3:58.24 in Silesia. Muir lost to Chepngétich in Monaco.
For Kinyamal, it will be his first 800m race since the national trials for the 2019 Doha World Championships. However his last competition was in the 400m during the Athletics Kenya meeting at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani on March 5.
He takes on Briton Elliot Giles, Frenchman Benjamin Roberts, who lowered his best to 1:44.46 in Monaco, and last year’s World Championships silver medallist Amel Tuka.
The 2016 World Under-20 Athletics Championships 1,500m champion Kumari Taki will also be in action. Other Kenyan athletes Daniel Simiu and Sheila Chelangat will compete in the 5,000m races in the fifth leg of the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting.
Ostrava Golden Spike comes two days after Kenya’s world 800m bronze medallist Ferguson Rotich won the race over the distance at the Skolimowska Memorial, in Silesia, Poland.
New kid on the block
Rotich held off Puerto Rico’s Wesley Vasquez over the final 20m to win his third straight title in the event.
Rotich clocked 1 minute 45.30 seconds to the win the contest while Vasquez came second in his season’s best of 1:45.47.
Taki battles world 1,500m bronze medallist Marcin Lewandowski (Poland), and two-time World Indoor 3,000m champion Yomif Kejelcha (Ethiopia).
“I’ve trained well in Kericho and I am in great shape. By virtue of the entries, it will be a tough race,” Taki said.
Simiu will making his maiden appearance in a World Athletics global track events. He will run the 5,000m race against world 5,000m silver medallist Selemon Barega.
