Kenyans set for More battle, Sum through
Athletics
By
JONATHAN KOMEN
| Aug 27, 2015
Kenya will be hoping to end a 10-year-old wait when three Kenyans battle a star-studded 5,000m men’s field at the iconic Birds Best Stadium in Beijing, China, on Saturday at 2:30pm.
And just like the 2013 Moscow Worlds showpiece, world 800m champion Eunice Sum will be Kenya’s sole contender in the medal chase in the two-lap race semi-final this afternoon at 3:05pm.
Her mentor Janeth Jepkosgei (2:01.40), the 2007 world champion, alongside reigning world junior 800m champion Margaret Nyairera (2:03.52) bowed out of the heats yesterday morning.
Sum (1:59.67) need to be at her best to counter Commonwealth Games silver medalist Lynsey Sharp of Great Britain (1:58.98) and Marina Arzamasova (1:58.69) in the semi-finals.
It will be interesting to watch the three men – Caleb Mwangangi Ndiku, Isaiah Kiplang’at Koech and Edwin Soi –battle Britain’s double world champion Mo Farah (13:19.44), Ethiopia’s African and world junior 5000m champion Yomif Kejelcha (13:19.38) and world silver medalist Hagos Gebrhiwet.
In heat two, they arrived at the four-kilometre mark in 11:13.16 with Emmanuel Kipsang at the fore, and there were still effectively 16 men in contention for the five automatic qualifying spots.
But the pace increased with 600m to go as Great Britain’s Tom Farrell stepped up a gear, which had an immediate impact and shook off several men.
The bell was reached in 12:48.15, but as the leaders swung around the final bend there were still eight men in contention, which provoked a frantic sprint over the final 150 metres.
Gebrhiwet won in 13:45.00.
Behind him USA’s Ben True finished second in 13:45.09.
Former Olympic bronze medalist Edwin Soi was third in 13:45.28, Farrell fourth in 13:45.29 and Ethiopia’s Imane Merga fifth in 13:45.41.
Kenya’s 2014 Diamond Race winner Ndiku and Bahrain’s Albert Rop took fourth and fifth place.
As expected from the early stages of the race, all five non-automatic qualifiers came from the second race, that had Kenya’s 2013 world 5000m bronze medallist Isaiah Koech.