Kenyan stars to compete in multiple events as athletics takes centre stage

Kenya's track and field athletes are set to dominate the evening program at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, with thrilling competitions lined up in the women's 5000 meters, the mixed 4x400 meters relay, and the women's 800 meters.

The spotlight will shine on Faith Kipyegon, making her debut in the 5000 meters at the Olympics, alongside Beatrice Chebet and Margaret Chelimo. Following their race, Kenya's mixed relay team will battle strong international competitors in the 4x400 meters. The night will conclude with the women's 800 meters heats, featuring champions Mary Moraa, Lilian Odira, and Vivian Chebet.

Kenya's male distance runners, Bernard Kibet, Daniel Mateiko, and Nicholas Kimeli, will then aim to reclaim glory in the 10000 meters final, seeking to end the nation's long wait for gold in this event.

The decorated Kipyegon, 30, whose achievements in the 1500 meters need no emphasis, will be making her debut in the 5000 meters at the Olympic Games after a world record performance in the event last year. The double 1500 meters Olympic champion will compete in Heat One, which starts at 19:10 EAT, alongside Chelimo, 31, who won silver in the event at the 2019 World Athletics Championships and is aiming for her first Olympic Games medal in Paris.

In this heat, they will face stiff competition from the Dutch Sifan Hassan, the reigning Olympic champion and Budapest 2023 silver medalist, as well as the Ethiopian duo of Ejgayehu Taye, 24, with the second-best season-best time in the world (14:18.92), and Gudaf Tsegay, 27, the Tokyo 2020 silver medalist and reigning world champion. Given their credentials, other athletes in this heat will struggle to match the quartet's prowess.

In Heat Two, which starts at 19:36 EAT, 24-year-old Beatrice Chebet, the 10000 meters world record holder, is expected to lead the field, with her competitors having more modest credentials compared to hers.

Following Kenya’s trio in the women’s 5000 meters, Kenya’s mixed relay team in the 4x400 meters will take over the track at 20:10 EAT. Kenya will compete in Heat One against the Bahamas, Belgium, France, Jamaica, Poland (reigning Olympic champions), Switzerland, and the USA (Tokyo 2020 bronze medalists). The team comprises Boniface Ontuga, David Sanayek, Kelvin Kipkori, Mercy Chebet, Tauta Sane, Thomas Nyatich, and Veronica Kamumbe.

Immediately after the relay, the six heats for the women’s 800 meters will commence, where Kenya will be represented by Mary Moraa, the reigning World, Commonwealth Games, and African Games champion, Lilian Odira, a silver medalist at the 2024 African Athletics Championships, and Vivian Chebet, a bronze medalist at the 2023 Africa Games.

Kenyan fans will have to wait until Heat Three to cheer on Vivian Chebet at 21:03 EAT. Mary Moraa will follow at 21:21 EAT in Heat Five, and Lilian Odira will compete in the final Heat Six at 21:30 EAT. The event will see a new Olympic champion crowned, as the reigning champion, American Athing Mu, will not be competing in Paris. Her compatriot Raevyn Rogers, the bronze medalist from Tokyo 2020, will also be absent. Keely Hodgkinson of Great Britain, the silver medalist from Tokyo 2020 and top-ranked athlete in the women’s 800 meters in 2024, will feature in Heat Four.

The day’s final track event, the 10000 meters final, starting at 22:20 EAT, will see the trio of Bernard Kibet, 24, Daniel Mateiko, 26, and Nicholas Kimeli, 25, aiming to restore Kenya’s glory in the event. Kenya has not won a gold medal in the 10000 meters since Naftali Temu's historic victory at Mexico City 1968.

Since then, Kenya has secured four silver medals (Richard Chelimo in 1992, Paul Tergat in 1996 and 2000, and Paul Tanui in 2016) and three bronze medals (Michael Musyoki in 1984, Kipkemboi Kimeli in 1988, and Micah Kogo in 2008) in the event. At Tokyo 2020, Kenya did not win a medal, with Rhonex Kipruto finishing 8th as Selemon Barega of Ethiopia took gold, world record holder Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda secured silver, and Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda claimed bronze.

Tonight, Kibet, Kimeli, and Mateiko will face tough competition from Barega, Cheptegei, and Kiplimo once again. Additional challenges will come from Yomif Kejelcha and Berihu Aregawi of Ethiopia, Grant Fisher of the USA, and Mohammed Ahmed, a Canadian of Somali descent who won silver in the 5000 meters at Tokyo 2020 and holds the Canadian national record in the event.