News19 May 2017


Farah tops Eugene’s 5000m field – IAAF Diamond League

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Mo Farah leads the 10,000m at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Eugene (© Getty Images)

A collection of the world’s best distance runners in the 5000m at the Prefontaine Classic will provide a preview of the IAAF World Championships London 2017 final when they take to the start line at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Eugene on 27 May.

More than half the field own an Olympic or World Championships medal of some sort.

Mo Farah of Great Britain now has nine major gold medals – four from the Olympics and five from the World Championships. Eight of those nine medals have been earned when securing 5000m/10,000m doubles from the past two Olympics and past two World Championships. He is aiming for another such double at this summer’s World Championships.

Farah has won four times at the Pre Classic, setting a meeting record of 12:56.98 for 5000m in 2012, and winning three times over 10,000m.

Paul Chelimo was the surprise silver medallist in Rio, taking 15 seconds off his PB with 13:03.90 to earn USA’s first Olympic 5000m medal since 1964.

Hagos Gebrhiwet already has three global medals in the 5000m. A world silver medal in 2013 was followed by bronze medals at the 2015 World Championships and 2016 Olympics. His PB of 12:47.53, a world U20 record, makes him the fastest in this year’s field.

At 19, Yomif Kejelcha has twice won in Eugene. At 16, he was the youngest winner ever in this event at the World Junior Championships in 2014, held at Hayward Field. In 2015 he won the 5000m at the Pre Classic and went on to win the Diamond Trophy that season.

Geoffrey Kamworor has the most major golds of anyone in the field except Farah. In March, the Kenyan won his second world cross-country crown. Last year he won his second world half-marathon title. On the track, he has set PBs in all three of his appearances at the Pre Classic, including last year’s runner-up finish at 12:59:98.

Olympic steeplechase champion Conseslus Kipruto won his first Pre Classic in 2013 at age 18, setting a meeting record of 8:03.59. His venture this year into the 5000m will be the first since his only known attempt at the distance, 13:47.5 in the high altitude of Eldoret in Kenya.

World silver medallist Caleb Mwangangi Ndiku won the Pre Classic 5000m in 2014, the year he also won the Diamond Trophy. In his first Pre Classic appearance in 2011, Ndiku clocked a PB of 3:49.77 in the mile.

Mohammed Ahmed owns the fastest time in the world so far for 2017 with his 13:04.60 set indoors in February. Earlier this month, the Canadian lowered his 10,000m PB to 27:30.00 at the Payton Jordan Invitational at Stanford. After setting a national record of 13:01.74 in Eugene last year, Ahmed went on to finish fourth in the event at the Olympic Games.

With a PB of 12:48.64, Isiah Koech is the second fastest in the field. The Kenyan has four top-eight finishes at global championships, his best being his bronze medal from the 2013 World Championships.

Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei was only 19 when he finished fifth and sixth respectively in the Olympic 5000m and 10,000m finals, a combination bettered only by Farah. He also won the world U20 10,000m title in Eugene back in 2014.

Olympic 10,000m silver medallist Paul Tanui, 2011 world 10,000m champion Ibrahim Jeilan, world U20 cross-country champion Jacob Kiplimo, Asian record-holder Albert Rop, NCAA cross-country champion Patrick Tiernan and Olympic sixth-place finisher Andrew Butchart are also in the field.

World indoor 3000m silver medallist Ryan Hill leads the US entries. He will be joined by compatriots Ben True, Hassan Mead and Eric Jenkins.

Organisers for the IAAF

2017 IAAF Diamond League calendar:
5 May – Doha, QAT
13 May – Shanghai, CHN
27 May – Eugene, USA
8 Jun – Rome, ITA
15 Jun – Oslo, NOR
18 Jun – Stockholm, SWE
1 Jul – Paris, FRA
6 Jul – Lausanne, SUI
9 Jul – London, GBR
16 Jul – Rabat, MAR
21 Jul – Monaco, MON
20 Aug – Birmingham, GBR
24 Aug – Zurich, SUI
1 Sep – Brussels, BEL

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