AFRICAN WRAP: Athletics season headed for thrilling conclusion

With the track and field season heading towards its climax in Eugene, Oregon this coming weekend, the penultimate Diamond League meeting took place in Brussels last Friday.

We take a look at some of the outstanding African performances at that event and elsewhere over the past week.

REWRITING THE RECORD BOOKS – MEN’S 2000M, BRUSSELS DIAMOND LEAGUE

While much of the focus was on Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen who ran a blisteringly quick 4:43.13 to break the 24-year-old 2000m world record, finishing in second place was Kenya’s Reynold Cheruiyot. The 19-year-old’s time of 4:48.14 was not only a new Kenyan national mark but also set a new world junior record over the rarely run distance.

EXCELLENT EBENYO IMPRESSES WITH PB – MEN’S 10 000M, BRUSSELS DIAMOND LEAGUE

Kenya’s Daniel Ebenyo followed up his silver medal in the World Championships 10 000m final behind Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei in Budapest with an impressive performance in Brussels. The 27-year-old produced a personal best performance, finishing the 25-lap race way out in front in 26:57.80 to register the third-fastest time in the world this year. His compatriot, Stanley Mburu, was third in 27:30.36.

SMALL CONSOLATION – MEN’S 800M, BRUSSELS DIAMOND LEAGUE

Having had a promising build-up to the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Djamel Sedjati left the Hungarian capital empty-handed after being disqualified from the 800m final for a lane violation. There was some consolation for the Algerian in Brussels, however, as he came from well back, negotiating his way around the side of the pack, to win in 1:43.60. Botswana’s Thepiso Masalela finished third in a new personal best time 1:44.03.

MAIDEN VICTORY – WOMEN’S 5000M, BRUSSELS DIAMOND LEAGUE

The women’s 5000m came down to a duel between Kenya’s Lilian Rengeruk and world junior champion Medina Eisa of Ethiopia. The duo led the race from early on and it wasn’t until Japan’s Nozomi Tanaka made a move on the final lap to close the gap on the leaders that Rengeruk was sparked into action, upping the pace on the back straight to power ahead for a first ever Diamond League victory in 14:26.46 with the 18-year-old Eisa second in 14:28.94.

BACK IN BUSINESS – MEN’S 100M, WACT BELLINZONA

Two of Africa’s fastest men, Kenyan Ferdinand Omanyala and South African Akani Simbine, returned to the track in Switzerland looking for redemption after disappointing World Championship campaigns, where Omanyala finished seventh in the 100m final and Simbine was disqualified from the semifinals for a false start. Both were beaten by Jamaican Oblique Seville who took the win in 10.01 but they were quick enough to finish second and third. Omanyala was second in 10.04 and Simbine third in 10.13.

TIMED TO PERFECTION – MEN’S 1500M, WACT BELLINZONA

Just a few days before his record-setting exploits over 2000m in Brussels, Kenya’s Reynold Cheruiyot raced the 1500m in Switzerland. He bided his time in the pack before taking to the front on the first bend of the final lap, then storming home in a new meeting record time of 3:33.98. Always easily recognisable in his yellow-rimmed sunglasses was South Sudan’s Dominic Lobalu who finished second in 3:35.22.

MENDY THE HURDLES MASTER – MEN’S 110M HURDLES – WAC TOUR ROVERETO

Senegal’s Louis Francois Mendy was the pick of the men’s sprint hurdlers in a World Athletics Continental Tour meet in Rovereto. The 24-year-old national record holder was quick out the blocks and ran a relatively clean race to win by some margin. He took the victory in 13.40 with Cuba’s Roger Iribarne second in 13.49.

ANOTHER KENYAN WIN FOR KIPROTICH – WOMEN’S 800M, WAC TOUR ROVERETO

Coming into the home straight of the women’s 800m, the title could have gone several different ways, with a bunch sprint forming in the final 100m. But it was Kenya’s Vivian Kiprotich who proved her class, outsprinting the pack to secure the win in 1:59.56.

RECORD-BREAKING RUN – WOMEN’S 2000M STEEPLECHASE, WAC TOUR ZAGREB

The 2000m steeplechase isn’t an event that’s run very often, so Kenyan Beatrice Chepkoech made sure she made the most of the opportunity to set a new world best time when it was included in the programme in Zagreb. The world 3 000m steeplechase record holder overtook the pacemakers and managed to take over five seconds off the previous mark, reaching the finish in 5:47.42. Fellow Kenyan, 20-year-old Winnie Jemutai finished second in 5:52.92 – just .12 off the previous world mark.

OMANYALA BACK ON TOP – MEN’S 100M, WAC TOUR ZAGREB

After playing second fiddle to Oblique Seville in both Bellinzona and Rovereto, Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala finally got the better of the Jamaican in the 100m in Zagreb. The African record holder blitzed to victory in a speedy 9.94 seconds with Seville second in 10.07. Italy’s Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs was third in 10.08.

LOBALU BREAKS DECADE-OLD RECORD – MEN’S 3000M, WAC TOUR ZAGREB

South Sudan’s Dominic Lobalu followed up on his second place in the 1500m in Bellinzone in fine fashion in Zagreb on Sunday. The Swiss-based athlete slotted in behind the pacemakers and then led for the rest of the race, pulling away on the final lap and breaking the 10-year-old meeting record by finishing in a time of 7:33.95.

AFRICAN DOMINANCE AND END OF AN ERA FOR FARAH – GREAT NORTH RUN

A total of 43 768 runners took to the streets of Newcastle, England for the Great North Run half marathon. Few would have bet against Kenya’s Olympic marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir to take the elite women’s title. And sure enough, the two-time world half marathon champion delivered, cruising to the title in 1:06:45. Fellow Kenyan Sharon Lokedi came in second almost a minute later in 1:07:43.

In the men’s race, Ethiopia’s Tamirat Tola made up for some of the disappointment of failing to defend his marathon title at the World Championships just a few weeks ago by taking the win in 59:58. The race marked the final chapter for Somali-born Brit Mo Farah. The four-time Olympic gold medallist and six-time world champion brought the curtain down on his illustrious career by finishing fourth.