Image: TEAM KENYA/X
Abraham Kibiwot, Amos Serem, and Simon Koech will be aiming for more medals for Kenya on Wednesday in the Men’s 3000m steeplechase finals. The final is scheduled for 10:43 pm (East African Time).
The trio will compete against the 2020 Tokyo Olympic champion Soufine El Bakkali of Morocco and Uganda’s Leonard Chemutai.
Kibiwot, a bronze medalist at the 2016 African Championships in Athletics, and Serem, the gold medallist at the 2021 World Athletics U20 Championships, will be carrying the hopes of their nation.
‘‘The pressure from Kenyans back at home is huge considering we are challenging to reclaim a race we had dominated for years," Kibiwot said.
In the 5000m Round 1 qualifiers, another Kenyan trio—Jacob Krop, Edwin Kurgat, and Ronald Kwemoi—will compete. Krop, ranked 12th in the world with a personal best of 12:45.71 set in Brussels in 2022, will race against 20 other runners, including Australia’s Stewart McSweyn, USA’s Graham Blanks, and Ethiopia’s Hagos Gebrhiwet in the first heat at 12:10 pm.
Kwemoi, ranked 7th in the world with a personal best of 13:02.56 set in Xiamen, China in 2024, will face 12th-ranked compatriot Krop in heat two, alongside Ethiopia’s Biniam Mehary, Uganda’s Oscar Chelimo, and Jonas Raess of Switzerland among others in a strong field of 20 athletes.
However, Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei and Jacob Kiplimo have withdrawn from the race as they recover from the demanding 10,000m race. Cheptegei won the men's 10,000m title with an Olympic record of 26:43.14 while Kiplimo finished 8th in 26:46.39.
With Cheptegei, the Tokyo gold medalist with a time of 12:58.15, out of the race, a new champion is expected on the podium. The first 8 in each heat will qualify for the finals.
At 1:03 pm, Kenya's Emmanuel Wanyonyi, Wycliff Kimanyal, and Kibet Ngeno will represent Kenya in the 800m heats.
Wiseman Were Mukhobe will compete in the 400m hurdles men’s semifinals.
On Monday, Beatrice Chebet won the first gold for Kenya in the 5000m, producing a devastating kick over the final stretch to beat compatriot Faith Kipyegon to the line.
However, the hopes of winning more medals were thwarted on Tuesday when Kenyan-born Bahraini Winfred Yavi won the women’s Olympic 3,000 meters steeplechase gold medal.
