Alfred Kipketer, the 2013 world youth champion who leads the 2014 junior list with his hand-timed 1:44.2 in Nairobi, and Timothy Cheruiyot could restore Kenya’s successful tradition in this event, with their countrymen having won eight of the 14 finals contested in the history of the Championships.
Kipketer, still 17, was also part of the victorious 4x800m team at the recent IAAF World Relays in The Bahamas so has to be considered to be the big favourite
Austria’s junior record holder Nikolaus Franzmair, Sweden’s Andreas Almgren - with no European runner having been on the men’s 800m podium since 2004 - and Ethiopia’s Mamush Lencho and Jena Umar should also be in contention for the top places.
Javier Clavelo Robinson for the IAAF
