by Larry Eder
Ezekial Kemboi, photo by Photorun.net
A plethora of Kenyans in the Men’s 800 meters, Men’s 400m hurdles and women’s 1,500 meters coming up, plus the steeplechase on Monday, which gives Justin Lagat, our an in Kenya much hope!
Day 2: Six Kenyans make it to the finals in men’s 800m, 400m H and women’s 1500m, by Justin Lagat
If someone thought that he must have been dreaming when he watched Kenyan runners winning the heats of the men’s 400n hurdles, I wonder what he will be thinking when he sees one winning the gold medal! Two Kenyans today managed to qualify to the finals; one won in the first semi-final while the other took second in the third semi-final.
To give you a clear possibility of what may happen in the finals and save you from the possibility of you being unsure again in Tuesday whether you will be dreaming , consider that Kenya’s Boniface Mucheru ran the fastest time in the semi-finals where many other athletes behind him were able to set personal best, seasonal best and national records. It shows that the semi-finals were as competitive as the finals will be.
All Kenyans in the men’s 800m also went through to the finals. When Alfred Kipketer made it through in the first semi-final, it was imminent that the other two, David Rudisha and Ferguson Rotich, were going to make it too since they are being seen as the stronger of the three Kenyans having finished in the top two positions during the national trials. As expected, both made it. Rudisha won the second semi-final as Ferguson Rotich took second in the third semi-final behind Amel Tuka, who could be the huge threat to Kenya’s chances of winning all the medals in the finals of this event on Tuesday.
The defending champion, Mohammed Aman could not make it to the finals having finished third and then getting disqualified for stepping inside the track (R 163.2). Another athlete who was seen by many to be another threat to beat Kenyans, Amos Nijel, also failed to reach the finals after finishing third in the second semi-finals. Everything seems to be promising for Kenyans in the finals of this event.
The semi-finals in the women 1500m had all the big names in it. It seems the finals of this will be one of the toughest races in Beijing. There are Sifan Hassan, Genzebe Dibaba, Abeba Aregawi, Jennifer Simpson, Dawit Seyaun and Laura Muir, among others, all making it to the finals. However, Kenya’s Faith Chepng’etich also made it to the finals here and is one promising athlete. She has a possibility to surprise everyone and get away with the gold medal.
The Kenyan national anthem has not yet been sung in the Bird’s Nest, so far, but Monday could be the day. All the four Kenyan men who made to the finals in the men’s 3000m steeplechase event will be lining up for the finals. Jairus Birech, Ezekiel Kemboi, Conseslus Kipruto and Brimin Kipruto will be running against the rest of the world and the only real challenger they will be facing will be USA’s Evan Jager.
Kenya’s Vivian Cheruiyot, Betsy Saina and Sally Kipyego will also be running in the women 10,000m finals and the chances for a gold medal here are also high. Cheruiyot seems to be currently in her former 2011 form.
