Consenslus Kipruto leads Kenya hunt for Sh3.5 million prize in the Diamond League in Zurich

By JOSEPH NGURE and IAAF

World silver medallist in the 3,000m steeplechase Consenslus Kipruto is the sole Kenyan likely to clinch a Diamond League trophy in Zurich over the water and hurdle race on Thursday.

A top-three finish in Zurich will guarantee Diamond Race victories for Bohdan Bondarenko in high jump, Kipruto in 3,000m steeplechase and Justin Gatlin in 100m.

Four athletes - Ayanleh Souleiman (1,500m), Aleksandr Menkov (long jump), Zuzana Hejnova (400m hurdles) and Christina Obergfoll (javelin) - need only to line up for their events to secure their Diamond Race victories.

But in the 12 other IAAF Diamond League events in the Swiss city, the Diamond Race is still open.

Kipruto, smarting from winning a silver medal in the just-ended 14th IAAF World Championship in Moscow, heads the steeplechase ranking with 13 points. He leads fellow Kenyans Ezekiel Kemboi and Hillary Yego (both on six points) with defending champion Paul Kipsiele Koech in fourth place with just five points.

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The Diamond Race champions in some events have already been decided, but athletes must compete in the Diamond League final races either in Zurich or Brussels in their discipline to secure the USD$40,000 bonus and the Diamond Race Trophy.

The most interesting race will be the women’s 800m. With point leader Francine Niyonsaba of Burundi out for the rest of the season through injury, it effectively means that whoever wins in Zurich will secure the Diamond Race win.

A victory in the final carries double points and in Niyonsaba’s absence eight points will be enough to top the overall standings.

Another close event is the women’s Pole Vault. Yarisley Silva currently leads the point standings ahead of Silke Spiegelburg and Jenn Suhr, but any of those three athletes will secure the Diamond Race title if they win in Zurich.

Three contestants

The women’s Long Jump is another three-way contest with Blessing Okagbare, Brittney Reese and Shara Proctor all vying for the win in Zurich which will land them with the Diamond Race prize.

World champion David Oliver is the current leader in the 110m Hurdles and needs to finish in the top two in Zurich to maintain his lead. If fellow World champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce wins the 200m, she will leap-frog Murielle Ahoure’s points tally to steal the Diamond Race title.

Only two athletes - Olympic champion Kirani James and World champion LaShawn Merritt - are left in contention in the 400m Diamond Race. A win in Zurich from either of those athletes will guarantee them the Diamond Race title.

The same applies in the women’s 5000m, where World champions Meseret Defar and Tirunesh Dibaba have two victories each so far.

In the throws, Valerie Adams looks destined for the Diamond Race title and the ‘Shot as the World’ champion needs only to finish in the top two. Poland’s Piotr Malachowski is also looking for a top-two finish in the men’s Discus, but if Robert Harting wins and Malachowski finishes lower than second, the German will grab the Diamond Race victory.