Road to Tokyo: How teamwork, sibling rivalry has dominated battle for glory

Olympic champions Faith Kipyegon and Beatrice Chebet react after the victory ceremony for the women's 5000m during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Paris, on August 6, 2024. [AFP] In a high-stakes competition like the World Championships, teamwork has been a key factor but individual glory has often reigned supreme. As the country prepares its troops for the 2025 Tokyo World Athletics Championships, their collective target is to chase glory not just for Kenya but for themselves. In the team, Kenya looks to continue its stranglehold as the world's athletics powerhouse status and on the other hand, individual athletes will be making huge announcements especially when they make the podium. And so, the sibling rivalries that have characterised contests of the World Championships calibre can't be ruled out ahead of Tokyo25 scheduled for September 13-21. The Kenyan athletics teams to global events such as the World Championships and Olympic Games have historically enjoyed camaraderie and embraced each other at the finish line and even danced to their favourite music. Recently, two American sprinters Noah Lyles and Kenny Bednarek displayed a cold relationship during a 200m clash. In the final 50m of the national 200m final, clocking a world-leading 19.64 seconds, Lyles looked over his shoulder instead of powering quietly sprinting past his countryman, Bednarek. The duo's supremacy battles sparked debate on their sportsmanship and whether they are ready to compete as Team USA. That was after Lyles asked for an apology and instead, Bednarek described his look as 'un-sportsmanship.' In the Team Kenya camp, the spirit has been assured but bigwigs are expected to go for the podium spots. For instance, the women's 5000m will have the country's track queens, defending champion of the world title Faith Kipyegon and Olympic champion Beatrice Chebet have to face off in Tokyo if the debate on who is the greatest in the distance between the two is to be settled. But the duo which has shattered the 5000m world records (with Chebet being the current record breaker and Kipyegon the former) have insisted on prioritising team spirit. Kenya has achieved a number of podium sweeps courtesy of team and individual efforts. At the 1997 Athens World Championships, the Kenyan trio of Moses Kiptanui, Wilson Boit Kipketer produced a historic podium sweep. Kipketer took the title while Kiptanui and Barmasai clocked the same time to settle for second and third place. The trio has in the past attributed the glorious moment to both team and individual battles. Steeplechase legend Ezekiel Kemboi would reproduce the Athens script in 2015 when he led Consensus Kipruto and Brimin Kipruto to another dominant podium sweep. At the 2004 Athens Olympics, Kemboi had also anchored a Kenyan 1-2-3 sweep in the men's 3000m steeplechase final. He won the gold medal, with Brimin Kipruto taking silver and Paul Kipsiele Koech bagging bronze. With their accolades, Kipyegon, Chebet and 10km record holder Agnes Ngetich hope to carry the hopes of a nation as a team and individually. As stated by Chebet just days after booking her 5000m slot in Team Kenya in a world record time during the trials in Eugene, USA, her focus is a gold medal even as she considered group strategy. "I know there will be a strong team from Kenya and other countries, but I will try my best to win gold," said Chebet. The double Olympic champion went on to say: "I believe with a team of Faith Kipyegon, Agnes Ngetich and Margaret Ekidor, we can sweep the medals in the 5000m in Tokyo." In 1500m where 2019 world champion Timothy Cheruiyot will run side by side with former world Under-20 champion Reynold Cheruiyot and rising star Phanuel Koech, talks of a plot to medal in Tokyo have been revealed. "We are going to sit down as a team and discuss how we are going to bring home the medals," said Reynold Cheruiyot. From relays to long distances, Kenyan stars are expected to take their traditional team and individual tactics to the global showpiece.

Road to Tokyo: How teamwork, sibling rivalry has dominated battle for glory

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