Selectors pin faith on Kipegyon doubling up in Budapest

Double Olympic and world 1,500 metres champion Faith Kipyegon has been exempted from competing in the 1,500 metres final at the national trials for the World Athletics Championships that start day in Nairobi.

Instead, the double track world record holder will field in the 5,000m final that goes down at 2.20pm at the Nyayo National Stadium.

The development now makes it official that the 2017 and 2022 world 1,500m champion will double up in 1,500m and 5,000m at the World Athletics Championships scheduled for August 19 to 27 in Budapest, Hungary.

Fresh from breaking the 1,500m and 5,000m world records, Kipyegon, the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Olympics 1,500m champion, comes face-to-face with fast-rising world 5,000m silver medallist Beatrice Chebet in the 12-and-a-half laps race.
Athletics Kenya (AK) director for youth and development Barnabas Korir affirmed that the panel of selectors will decide who else could double up at the World Athletics Championships scheduled for August 19 to 27 in Budapest, Hungary.

“The 1,500m and 5,000m races are too close at the world event and that is why we want Kipyegon to conserve her energy and compete in 5,000m only at the trials,” said Korir.

“The rest who want to double at the trials can do so but the decision on who will double up in Budapest is vested in the selectors.” Korir noted that it’s not just a matter of competing in two races but winning medals too.

“We shall only have a person doubling up when we know they have potential to win medals,” he explained.

In Budapest, the women’s 1,500m heats will be on August 19 followed by the semi-finals the following day while the final is scheduled on August 22.

The women’s 5,000m semi-finals are due on August 23 with the final scheduled for August 26.

Kipyegon set a new world record of three minutes and 49.11 seconds in 1,500m during the Florence Diamond League on June 2, crashing the previous record set by Genzebe Dibaba from Ethiopia in 2015 by 0.96 seconds.

Two world titles

Week later on June 9, Kipyegon broke the 5,000m world record, winning the Paris Diamond League race in 14:05.20. Another Ethiopian, Letesenbet Gidey, held the previous record of 14:06:62.

“I am glad that I will only compete in one race at the trials and I thank AK for the great honour which I should repay, God willing,” said Kipyegon.

“It’s my wish to get the ticket and focus on my dream of winning two world titles this year,” said Chebet, 23, who won the senior women’s 10km race at the World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, Australia, on February 18.

Joining Kipyegon and Chebet, who is also the Commonwealth Games and Africa 5,000m champion, in the race for Budapest are the 2019 world 5,000m silver medallist Margaret Chelimo, national 5,000m champion Lilian Kasait, national cross country champion Grace Loibach and Africa 5,000m silver medallist Caroline Nyaga.

Kenya lost the world 5,000m title that Hellen Obiri won in 2017 (London) and 2019 (Doha) to Gudaf Tsegay last year in Oregon, United States of America, as Chebet settled for silver.

Meanwhile, another attempt to reclaim the world 10,000m title Charles Kamathi won last for Kenya in 2001 starts today with a potentially explosive 10,000m final at 1pm.

Commonwealth Games 10,000m medallists Daniel Simiu (Silver) and Kibiwott Kandie (bronze) once again go head-on in a star-studded field that has 13 athletes who have met the standards.

Simiu, who finished 10th in 5,000m at last year's world championships, has not attained the qualifying standards of 27:10.00 though his world ranking favours him at the moment.

However, he has the time in 5,000m.

"I am more than ready to make my debut at the World Championships," said Kandie, the national 10,000m champion.

Kandie qualifies by virtue of having finished in top 10 (fourth) at the world cross country championships.

While the field has 25 contestants, 13 have met the qualifying standards, three are within the world ranking vanguard while nine don't have the time.