World Athletics Championships: Kenyans confirmed to race tonight

Kenya's Beatrice Chepkoech celebrates during in the women's 3000 meters steeplechase during the IAAF Diamond League "Memorial Van Damme" athletics meeting at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels on August 31, 2018 (Photo by JOHN THYS / AFP)

The 17th edition of the IAAF World Championships kicked off today in Doha, Qatar.

World record holder Beatrice Chepkoech and 2015 champion Hyvin Kiyeng will lead the Kenyan women athletes in Doha, aiming to match or rather eclipse the males’ dominance the women's’ competition was introduced just in 2005. 

Bronze medallist Kenya's Hyvin Kiyeng Jepkemoi poses on the podium during the victory ceremony for the women's 3000m steeplechase athletics event at the 2017 IAAF World Championships at the London Stadium in London on August 12, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / Daniel LEAL-OLIVAS

Celliphine Chespol, two-time World Under-20 champion, and African Games Champion Fancy Cherono will also be in action tonight.

They have vowed to bring titles home as they square off against top-class athletes in the 3000 meters heats at the Khalifa International Stadium. At exactly 6:55 pm.

Celliphine Chespol wins the 800m race at the Kenya Prisons Championships at Kasarano Stadium on June 16, 2018 [Courtesy]

“Our main objective is to run as a team and ensure all of us are in the final. We don’t want to repeat the same mistakes we made in London. All of us are in good shape, it’s just a matter of running as a team to ensure we deliver victory,” Kiyeng told The Standard.

Chepkoech has waited for two years for her chance to make amends for what happened in London where she headed to the World Championships on the verge of a breakthrough, but she greatly reduced her chances of a medal in the opening stages when she missed the water jump and had to go back to clear it, losing valuable ground on the leaders.

She bounced back by breaking the world record, clocking 8:44.32 in Monaco the year after. She is now world number one.

Nicholas Kimeli and Jacob Krop will represent Kenya in the men’s 5,000m heats which start at 7:45 pm.

Nicholas Chirchir of Kenya Defence Forces will be the only representative in the men’s 400m hurdles.