PARIS 2024: Cherotich wins bronze in women's steeplechase as Cheruiyot and Komen disappoint in 1500m final
By Michael Kirwa |
No Kenyan since Asbel Kiprop in Beijing 2008 has emerged victorious in Steeplechase
Faith Cherotich braved a high-paced finish to the women's 3000 metres final to settle for bronze with a personal best time of 8:55.15 on Tuesday night at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Paris.
Winfried Mutile Yavi, the Kenyan-born Bahraini who is the reigning world champion in the event, won the race with a new Olympic record time of 8:52.76 to dethrone the Ugandan Peruth Chemutai who took silver with a time of 8:53.34, a national record.
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Beatrice Chepkoech, the event's world record holder, faded in the final lap, losing pace to finish sixth with a time of 9:04.24 behind the Frenchwoman Alice Finot (8:58.67) and the Ethiopian Sembo Almayew (9:00.83, a season best).
The result sees Kenya's wait for gold medal in the event for another four years.
Even though Kenya has always had a medalist in the event at every Olympic Games since the race's introduction at the Olympic Games in 2008, the gold medal has consistently proved elusive and there was great hope for the drought ending tonight but it was not to be.
Beatrice Chepkoech started the race in typical fashion, leading the race from the first lap to give Kenyans early hopes for a gold medal victory. Faith Cherotich and the trio of Almayew, Chemutai, and Yavi did not stay far behind her.
With four laps to go however, Chepkoech surrendered the lead to Chemutai and the leading quintet increased the distance between them and the rest of the field.
Come the final lap, Chemutai and Yavi sprinted away with Cherotich chasing them. However, the Kenyan could not close the gap but maintained her energy to do enough to finish third. In the final 50 metres, Chemutai's pace was no match for Yavi's devastating as the Kenyan-born Bahraini went on to win the race in splendid fashion, breaking the Russian's Gulnara Samitova-Galkina Olympic record of 8:58.81 which has stood since 2008.
In the men's 1 500 metres final, Kenya had a night to forget as its representatives in the event, Timothy Cheruiyot and Brian Komen, finished second last (11th) and last (12th) with times of 3:31.35 and 3:35.59 respectively.
While Komen was never in the race at all, trailing the rest for most part of the race, Cheruiyot faded horribly in the last 300 metres despite behind second behind the Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen after the bell for the final lap went off.
Cheruiyot had no answer when other athletes increased their pace and he was helpless as they overtook him.
The American Cole Hocker won the race with a new Olympic record of 3:27.65, dethroning the previous Olympic champion and record holder Jakob Ingebrigtsen who finished fourth with a time of 3:28.24, eight hundredths of a second faster than the Olympic record he had set for the event when he won gold in Tokyo three years ago.
Josh Kerr of the Great Britain was second after clocking 3:27.79, to pip the American Yared Nuguse in a photo finish. Nuguse settled for bronze with a time of 3:27.80.
The result sees Kenya's gold medal drought in the race set to continue for four more years as no Kenyan since Asbel Kiprop in Beijing 2008 has emerged victorious in that event.
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