FAMILY RIVALRY RELOADED: Kiprop, Kiplagat rekindle battle of their fathers 29 years ago

An exciting family rivalry beckons as the men’s 1,500m round one gets underway at Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro this afternoon.

The battle rekindles memories of the 1987 All Africa Games 1,500m clash between David Kebenei and James Seurei, now a coach in Eldoret.

Seurei won the gold while Kebenei finished fourth. Today, both men will present their sons in the chase for 1,500m Olympics honours.

Kebenei is the father of three-time world 1,500m champion Asbel Kiprop while Seurei is the father of Benson Kiplagat, who has since switched his nationality to Bahrain.

It will be a slightly different battle this time as each runner represents his country in a race where Kiprop has been tipped as a hot favourite for the top spot.

Kiprop is no doubt in tip-top form, having won the IAAF Diamond League meetings in Doha, Eugene and Oslo — and sixth place in Monaco — after setting a world leading time of 3:29.33 at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham in June.

The poor show in Monaco is unlikely to affect him as he lines up at 4:30pm today in his third Olympics appearance after Beijing and London. He is expected to secure a slot in the semi-final set for Friday morning.

Kiprop arrived in Rio late - head coach Julius Kirwa said he had allowed him to make his own travel arrangements as he was not ready to travel with the team.

“I am not worried that Asbel (Kiprop) arrived in camp late. I was aware of his travel plans and we agreed that he would come after the others had arrived at the Olympics Village as he felt that his event was still far off and there was really no need for him to be here early.

“Some athletes get affected when they go to a championships too early and have to wait long before competing so I felt it was good for all of us if Asbel checked into camp later than the rest,” Kirwa told Feverpitch in camp last week.

It now remains to be seen if Kiprop’s delayed arrival in Rio will make a difference in the way he handles the first round today.

The contests highlight the depth of his preparedness; Kiprop has been unpredictable in his performances since finishing fourth in the Osaka (2007) and Berlin (2009) worlds before taking the wooden spoon at the London Olympics.

Should he fail to impress in Rio, Commonwealth Games silver medallist Ronald Kwemoi and world silver medallist Elijah Manangoi will shoulder Kenya’s medal hopes.