Kenyans qualify for steeplechase, 1,500m finals in Lima

Kenyans Mathew Kosgei and Edmund Serem sailed through to the men's 3,000m steeplechase final after winning their respective heats on Wednesday night at the World Under-20 Championships in Lima, Peru.

Kosgei led in his heat after two laps and took control of the race before crossing the line in eight minutes and 24.64 seconds ahead of Ethiopia’s Berihun Moges who clocked 8:30.92, while Algeria’s Anes Djayahia was in third in 8:39.10.

In the second heat, Serem ran a brilliant race from behind in the first few laps before surging forward and led in the last two laps before crossing the line in 8:46.56/ Ethiopia’s Hailu Ayalew was second in 8:48.14 with USA’s Wyatt Haughton who clocked 8:59.09 sealing the podium positions.

In the 2022 edition held in Cali, Colombia, Kenya missed out on the podium positions and the duo will be seeking to reclaim the title won by Ethiopia’s Samuel Duguna with his compatriot Samuel Firewu bagging a silver medal, while Morocco’s Salaheddine Ben Yazide settled for a bronze medal.

In an interview, Kosgei said that he wanted to have a feel of running from the front and was just testing the waters and when his rivals didn’t react, he controlled his pace to the finish line.

“Today I ran because of my mother who has been motivating me and I didn’t want to let her down. We just need to calculate well and make sure we take gold and silver back home and make our country proud once again,” said Kosgei.

Serem said he decided to change his strategy midway and surged forward to lead the race up to the tape.

“I suspected it might be tricky in the last few metres because everybody might decide to kick and I would have lost. Going into the final we just have to work hard and bag the medals on offer,” said Serem.

In the men's 1,500m, Josphat Kipkirui sailed through to the final, but his compatriot Collins Kibiwott missed out narrowly. 

Kipkirui clocked 3:44.62 ahead of South Africa’s Johannes Morepe who timed 3:45.10, while Norway’s Hakon Moe Berg finished third in 3:45.40.

In the second heat, Kibiwott finished sixth after clocking 3:45.15 in a race won by Spanish Alex Pintado who timed 3:44.62 with Ethiopia’s Abdisa Fayisa (3:44.83) and Great Britain’s George Couttie (3:44.84) coming in second and third positions respectively.

In the women's 1,500m, Mary Nyaboke and Miriam Chemutai Kibet qualified for Sunday's final.

Chemutai finished fifth in 4:22.53 as Great Britain’s Ava Lloyd crossed the line in 4:21.53 with Ethiopia’s Tsige Teshome finishing second in 4:21.92. At the same time, Switzerland’s Shirin Kerber was third clocking 4:22.21.

In the second heat, Nyaboke came in second after clocking 4:21.72 with Ethiopia’s Saron Berhe winning in 4:18.88, while USA’s Dylan McElhinney was third timing 4:21.74.