Athletics
Kipyegon and Chebet win heats as Kenyan trio make women's 5000m final
Faith Kipyegon on her way to winning heat one of the 5000m race (C) NOCK
By Michael Kirwa |
Kenya's 4×400 mixed relay team will take no further part in the 2024 Paris Olympics Games after the nation's baton-exchanging quartet finished 7th in Heat One which was won by the USA with a world and Olympic record time of 3:07.21 at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Paris, on Friday evening.
Faith Kipyegon, Beatrice Chebet, and Margaret Chelimo were in fine form at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Paris, as the trio qualified for the women's 5 000 metres final after smooth sails in their heat races at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games on Friday evening.
Kipyegon, who is going for a 1 500 metres and 5 000 metres, won the star-studded Heat One with a time of 14:57.56. Chelimo, also competing in Heat One, finished fourth after clocking 14:57.70.
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Reigning Olympic champion the Dutch Sifan Hassan, who is going for a historic triple by competing in the 5 000 metres, 10 000 metres, and the marathon, was second with a time of 14:57.65 after crossing the line in a photo finish Italy's Nadia Battocletti who also clocked 14:57.65 for third place.
Gudaf Tsegay of Ethiopia, the reigning world champion and the world record holder in the event was fifth, crossing the finish line with a season best time of 14:57.84. Her compatriot, Ejgayehu Taye was sixth after clocking 14:57.97.
The American duo of Elise Cranny (14:58.55) and Karissa Schweizer (14:59.64) finished seventh and eighth respectively to scoop the remaining two automatic qualifying slots from the heats.
The women's 5 000 metres had a field of 45 athletes split into two Heats with the top eight finishers in each heat qualifying for the final which will take place on Monday, August 5.
Heat One started with an athlete less after Uganda's Joy Cheptoyek failed to start the race which saw Kipyegon, Hassan, and Tsegay starting from back, stalking the pack as the race wore on.
The Japanese duo of Yama Yamamoto and Nozomi Tanaka led for a greater part of the race, with Yamamoto, the Asian champion, leading the rest with a distance of 45 metres at one point.
Despite the ambitious start, Yamamoto's and Tanaka's strategy backfired as the rest caught up with them in the final 1 600 metres. Tanaka ended up finished ninth with a time of 15:00.63 while Yamamoto crossed the finish line in a disappointing 17th place after clocking 15:43.67.
From there, several athletes exchanged the lead in a brutal charge to the finish line. Kipyegon took a commanding lead with 300 metres and had to fend off a challenge from Tsegay as she sprinted to the finish line before keeping Hassan, who was running from the outside line, at bay to win the first heat.
While Heat One saw all eight athletes who qualified for the final doing sub 15:00 times, the second Heat, which Beatrice Chebet led from start to finish was slower as no athlete went below 15:00.
Chebet controlled the race from start to finish, rarely looking disturbed until the final 200 metres when she touched legs with another athlete but she managed to maintain her balance to win the race with a time of 15:00.73.
Medina Eisa (15:00.82) followed in second place. A third African, Francine Niyomukunzi of Burundi was fifth with a time of 15:01.42.
Rose Davies of Australia (3rd, 15:00.86), Karoline Grovdal of Norway (4th, 15:01.14), Whittni Morgan of the USA (6th, 15:02.14, a season best), Natalie Blomqvist of Finland (7th, 15:02.75) and Joselyn Brea of Venezuela (8th, 15:02.89) sealed the remaining qualifying slots.
The night ended disappointingly for Uganda as, in addition to Joy Cheptoyek's withdrawal in the first heat, none of their remaining two athletes, Belinda Chemutai (12th in Heat One with a time
of 15:23.90) and Esther Chebet (13th in Heat Two with a time of 15:10.46), made the final.
There will also be no final representation for Djibouti, the other African country to feature in heats, as Samiyah Hassan Nour finished 15th in Heat Two with a time of 15:13.63.
Kenya suffer elimination in 4×400 Mixed Relay Race as USA set world and Olympic record in Heat One
Kenya's 4×400 mixed relay team will take no further part in the 2024 Paris Olympics Games after the nation's baton-exchanging quartet finished 7th in Heat One which was won by the USA with a world and Olympic record time of 3:07.21 at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Paris, on Friday evening.
The 4×400 mixed relay race featured two heat races and teams were competing to finish in the top three im their respective heats to qualify for the finals which will have eight teams and is scheduled to take place on Saturday, August 3. The remaining two slots are given to the two teams with the fastest time.
Kenya, the African record holder in the event, having finished seventh in Heat One with a time of 3:13.13, have no chance of qualifying among the two teams with the fastest time.
Kenya's quartet in the race comprised David Kapirante (first leg), Veronica Mutua (second leg), Boniface Ontuga (third leg), and Mercy Chebet (final leg).
Kapirante started well, finishing his leg in second place, but that momentum was lost as Mutua handed over the baton to Ontuga with Kenya having dropped to fourth in the race.
However, Ontuga managed to pull Kenya back into second place heading into the final leg but Mercy Chebet struggled to hold on, and Kenya ender the race in seventh place.
Jamaica, who finished fourth with a time of 3:11.06, a national record, had the best start, finishing the first leg in pole position only to fade off in the remaining legs.
The USA, despite running a world and Olympic record race, did not have the best of starts, ranking seventh and fifth respectively in the first two legs before taking a commanding lead in the third leg on their way to smashing the world and Olympic record. Until today, USA owned the world record which they set at Budapest 2023 (3:08.80) while Poland, who finished fifth in Heat One with a season best of 3:11.43, had the Olympic record (3:09.87) which they set in Tokyo 2020.
Host nation, cheered by a jubilant crowd, were second in Heat One, crossing the finishing line with a new national record of 3:10.60.
Belgium, who qualified from Heat One after ranking third with a time of 3:10.74, also set a new national record to justify how fast Heat One was.
Switzerland also set a new national record in Heat One but their time of 3:12.77 was only good enough for 6th place.
Bahamas finished last in Heat One, just behind Kenya in eighth place with a time of 3:14.58.
Heat Two's less faster finish played to the advantage of Jamaica and Poland, whose finish times in Heat One proved good enough for the duo to qualify for the finals with two fastest times for a team that did not make the top three in the heats.
Great Britain, also setting a national record with a time of 3:10.61, won Heat One. The Netherlands (3:10.81) and Italy (3:11.59) followed in second and third respectively.
There was disappointment for Nigeria, the other African team competing in the heats of the event, as the West African nation failed to make the final despite setting a new national record, 3:11.99, to finish fourth in Heat Two. However, their time was inferior to that of Jamaica and Poland who managed to qualify for the final with the fastest times.
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