By Oscar Pilipili and IAAF
1,500m runner Faith Chepngetich showed she was more than ready for the Olympics games with a commanding victory on the last day of the World Junior Championships in Barcelona on Sunday.
The tiny Chepngetich who will be part of the Kenyan team in the 1,500m race at the Olympics not only won gold, but also did so with a new Championships record after clocking 4:04.96 in a race, which she effectively controlled after the first 300m.
Chepngetich was not really challenged and she showed she is ready for bigger things as she held off her much taller rivals around the 1992 Olympic Stadium.
The World Youth gold medallist on hearing the bell really put her foot down on the back straight only Serbia’s Amela Terzic made any real attempt to take up the chase and was rewarded with her second Serbian record of the Championships in 4:07.59 with Ethiopia’s Senbere setting a PB 4:08.28 behind her.
Chepngetich said: “When I entered the stadium I saw that Conseslus (Kipruto) had got the gold medal and Gilbert the silver. It gave me a lot of encouragement to run. After the Olympics I want to go home and rest.”
Meanwhile, ever since a school boy Amos Biwott clinched 3000m steeplechase gold at the 1968 Mexico Olympics, Kenyans have dominated the event in all major competitions including World Championships, Olympics, Commonwealth and All African Games.
Youngsters Conselus Kipruto and Gilbert Kiplangat proved to the world that the legacy continues after they recorded a 1-2 finish at the World Junior Championships.
Kipruto decimated fellow Kenyan Willy Ruto’s six-year-old Championships record of 8:14.00 when leading from gun-to-tape as he blasted out a time of 8:06.10.
His remarkable performance also improved the world lead he set at Doha’s Samsung Diamond League meet in May where he demonstrated his vast potential for the future.
Kiplangat who was just over two seconds behind when runner-up on that hot night in the desert, had to settle again for second best after being destroyed by his fellow countryman’s last kilometre of 2:40.98 clocking 8:19.94 with Morocco’s Hicham Sigueni a distant third in 8:30.14.
Kipruto 17, is the fastest man at that age in the chase and maintained Kenya’s unbeaten Championships gold medal winning tradition at the distance.
