Morocco broke Kenya’s stranglehold on the women’s 3000m at the IAAF World Youth Championships as Siham Hilali outsprinted the opposition to strike gold in the opening event.
The 3000m scheduled in the middle of the colourful opening ceremony saw the 17-year-old North African outsprint the pre-race favourite, 14-year-old Pasalia Chepkorir Kipkoech of Kenya, in the closing stages to clock the third fastest time in the world this year of 9:12.70.
The race, shorn of the Ethiopian representative, Kulen Bekana after the seven-strong team arrived late following a visa problem, was expected to be a two way battle between the Kenyan’s, Kipkoech and Jebichi Yator.
After a pedestrian first kilometre it was Hilali who led the field in 3:14.94 but with just over four laps remaining the barefooted Kenyan duo could not contain their enthusiasm and hit the front with a noticeable injection of pace.
With three laps to go the group was whittled down to just five Hilali, the two Kenyans, Yuko Nohara of Japan and Yugoslavia’s Azra Eminovic and Kipkoech went through 2km in 6:19.59 – ten seconds quicker than the first kilometre.
With just under two laps remaining it was Hilali, who muscled her way to the front and at the bell it was Morocco, Yator, Kipkoech and Nohara in the medal showdown.
Hilali, who went into the race only the fifth fastest on paper, stretched the opposition down the back straight but with 100m remaining Kipkoech loomed on the Moroccan’s shoulder.
But it was the Hilali, who held all the aces down the home straight to score a comprehensive win in a personal best time in the quickest kilometre of the race.
Hilali said of race victory: “The race started at a slow pace but around the 2000 mark the pace began to pick up and by the final mile it was hard to keep up but I kept up my pace and won.”
Kipkoech, at 14 years 199 days, one of the youngest ever competitors in the history of the World Youth Championships earned silver.
In a terrific battle for bronze Nohara, 15, caught Yator by seven hundredths of a second – 9:14.82 to 9:14.89.
Kenya won the previous two editions of the race in the World Youth Championships.
