Classy Kipyegon claims gold as El Bakkali wins steeple chase showdown

With three new world records to her name in recent months, few would have bet against Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon as 12 athletes lined up for the 1500m final at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest on Tuesday night.

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And the two-time defending champion duly lived up to all pre-event expectations, powering to the front of the field, upping the pace on the final lap and sailing to victory in a time of 3:54.87.

Dutch distance star Sifan Hassan, who spectacularly fell in the home straight to miss out on a medal in the 10 000m last Saturday, put in a massive effort to close the gap on the speedy Kenyan but eventually settled for bronze in 3:56.00, with Ethiopia’s Diribe Welteji taking the silver in 3:55.69.

“This is a great season for me. To break the world records and become a world champion here, to defend my title,” said a thrilled Kipyegon. “I told myself: 'You are the strongest and just keep going'.

“I was chasing history today and I was chasing this title. I have done it. I was just running my race. We are all strong runners. I knew the ladies were strong and I thank them for pushing me today... That was my plan to get to the front and to go faster because I know these races can be up and down. I just got myself in front after 300m and nobody was coming.”

Kipyegon won’t have time to rest on her laurels as she has to prepare for Wednesday evening’s 5000m heats.

Meanwhile, the men’s 3000m steeple chase final brought with it a highly anticipated showdown between Olympic and defending world champion Soufiane El Bakkali of Morocco and Ethiopia’s new world record holder Lamecha Girma.

Sure enough, the duo took to the front and battled each other until around 150m to go when El Bakkali managed to open up a gap and hold on for victory in a time of 8:03.53. Girma took the silver in 8:05.44 with Kenya’s Abraham Kibiwot claiming bronze in 8:11.98.

“I am really proud to bring home another gold,” said El Bakkali. “I had great preparations for these championships but today's field was very strong with athletes like Lamecha. I came ready and prepared and believed I could win. This medal gives me additional motivation for the Olympic Games in Paris. I want to win there too.”

Earlier, South Africa’s world record holder Wayde van Niekerk just scraped through the 400m semifinals. He finished third in his semi and out of the automatic qualification spots. It was then a nervous wait to then see if his time of 44.65 was quick enough to see him safely through to Thursday’s final, which it ultimately was.

Speaking afterwards, Van Niekerk admitted: “I am disappointed. Let's see what I will be able to do another day. I have time to recover, regroup and then I will come back to do my best in the final.”

Botswana’s Bayapo Ndori pulled up with an injury in the final 400m semifinal of the night, which will be a blow to his nation’s 4x400m medal hopes after they clinched the bronze in the event at the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Meanwhile, just being on the track in Budapest on Tuesday was a massive relief for Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan who was cleared of the charge of missing three dope tests within a 12-month period just a day before the start of the World Championships. The 100m hurdles world record holder shrugged off the ruction, racing to victory in her heat in 12.48 seconds to book her spot in Wednesday’s semifinals.

“I'm just thankful to be out here,” said Amusan afterwards. “So I'm looking forward to taking each race at a time and getting to the final. I'm just thankful I'm here in Budapest and able to race, using my talent. It has not been the best but I'm here. I tried to stay as relaxed as possible [through all the uncertainty] and do what my coach tells me.”

South Africa’s 100m hurdles national record holder, Marioné Fourie, also booked a spot in the semifinals after finishing third in her heat in a time of 12.71.

Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyoni was the only athlete under one minute 45 in the men’s 800m heats. The 19-year-old sensation said he struggled slightly with how the pace fluctuated during the two laps but nevertheless made sure of victory in a time of 1:44.92 to book his spot in Thursday night’s semifinals.

“It was a difficult race because we changed speed all over the place. The guys went fast, then they went slow. It's not easy to keep pace in such situations. I even lost my control at one point,” he said. “I reacted very quickly to the guys speeding up and was good over the last 100m. I am still 19 years old and every race at such a level is a new experience. I hope my semifinal will be fast and I am ready.”

Also making it through were Morocco’s Abdelati El Guesse (1:45.24), Botswana’s Tshepiso Masalela (1:45.60) and Algeria’s Slimane Moula (1:45.76), Kenya’s Alex Kipngetich (1:47.63) and Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati (1:47.87).

Kenya’s Tokyo Olympic silver medallist Ferguson Rotich failed to make it past the 800m heats, however. The 33-year-old, who at the age of 12 changed his name from Simon to Ferguson in honour of former Manchester United Manager Alex Ferguson, missed out after finishing sixth in his heat in a time of 1:46.53.