(L-R) Bernard Lagat of United States and Asbel Kipruto Kiprop of Kenya in an eventful 1500m heats (© Getty Images)
The ease with which Asbel Kiprop loped through the field on the final lap of the men’s 1500m semi-final on Tuesday underlined his talent and tactical thinking. Kiprop, the Olympic silver medallist, is looking a good bet for a world title tonight at the 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics. If he can overcome his colleague Augustine Choge?
Though Peter Rono and Noah Ngeny have won Olympic 1500m titles in the last two decades, they can hardly be said to have dominated the event like Kip Keino did back in the sixties, when the Kenyans first shocked the athletics world. But Kiprop has the capacity to become the ruling figure in the event for a while.
The final could conceivably devolve into a Kenyan v American struggle, with the dash of brio being that defending champion Bernard Lagat, once the former is now the latter. But though Lopez Lomong and Lagat qualified easily in heat one, it was Leonel Manzano who looked the best of the US trio. Deresse Mekonnen did not feature as prominently as his season’s showing suggested, and the best of the three Moroccans in the final, Amine Lalou may be the man to surprise them all.
Can Jepkosgei defend?
In the other classic middle distance tonight, who could have imagined 12 months after their cavalcade to gold and silver in the Olympic 800 metres that Pamela Jelimo and Janeth Jepkosgei would struggle to make the world final? In fact, Jelimo didn’t, stopping halfway round the second lap of her semi.
Defending champion Jepkosgei’s story is a little more complicated. Given a pass to the semis, after she fell in the first round, she was chasing home by the 18-year-old Caster Semenya of South Africa in her semi, when she stopped too abruptly on the line, and let Britain’s Jenny Meadows snatch the automatic second qualifying place. Only the slowest last heat gave Jepkosgei another pass to the final as the fastest loser. Today’s final against an impressive Semenya is another potential cliffhanger.
New 100m hurdles champ on the horizon
With semi-finals first today, the women’s high hurdles is always fraught by the possibility of a faller. Just ask Lolo Jones, who might well have been an Olympic champion on the verge of a world title! She’s not even here, but there is a potentially cracking final later featuring her compatriots, Olympic champ, Dawn Harper, and Damu Cherry, the Canadians Priscilla Lopes-Schliep and Perdita Felicien, the Jamaicans, Brigitte Foster-Hylton and Deloreen Ennis-London, and the Aussie Sally McLellan.
Spotlight on Kanter and Harting in the discus
Gerd Kanter has to be the favourite to retain the men’s discus title, though the competition promises to be as entertaining as the shot. Although it was only qualifying Robert Harting threw further than the Estonian, something that no one has done in full competition for over a year. With the crowd behind him, Harting could be just as successful in the final. The man no one can overlook however is Virgilius Alekna. The Lithuanian has won everything in the sport, and despite advancing years just happens to be the last man to have beaten Kanter.
Pat Butcher for the IAAF
Though Peter Rono and Noah Ngeny have won Olympic 1500m titles in the last two decades, they can hardly be said to have dominated the event like Kip Keino did back in the sixties, when the Kenyans first shocked the athletics world. But Kiprop has the capacity to become the ruling figure in the event for a while.
The final could conceivably devolve into a Kenyan v American struggle, with the dash of brio being that defending champion Bernard Lagat, once the former is now the latter. But though Lopez Lomong and Lagat qualified easily in heat one, it was Leonel Manzano who looked the best of the US trio. Deresse Mekonnen did not feature as prominently as his season’s showing suggested, and the best of the three Moroccans in the final, Amine Lalou may be the man to surprise them all.
Can Jepkosgei defend?
In the other classic middle distance tonight, who could have imagined 12 months after their cavalcade to gold and silver in the Olympic 800 metres that Pamela Jelimo and Janeth Jepkosgei would struggle to make the world final? In fact, Jelimo didn’t, stopping halfway round the second lap of her semi.
Defending champion Jepkosgei’s story is a little more complicated. Given a pass to the semis, after she fell in the first round, she was chasing home by the 18-year-old Caster Semenya of South Africa in her semi, when she stopped too abruptly on the line, and let Britain’s Jenny Meadows snatch the automatic second qualifying place. Only the slowest last heat gave Jepkosgei another pass to the final as the fastest loser. Today’s final against an impressive Semenya is another potential cliffhanger.
New 100m hurdles champ on the horizon
With semi-finals first today, the women’s high hurdles is always fraught by the possibility of a faller. Just ask Lolo Jones, who might well have been an Olympic champion on the verge of a world title! She’s not even here, but there is a potentially cracking final later featuring her compatriots, Olympic champ, Dawn Harper, and Damu Cherry, the Canadians Priscilla Lopes-Schliep and Perdita Felicien, the Jamaicans, Brigitte Foster-Hylton and Deloreen Ennis-London, and the Aussie Sally McLellan.
Spotlight on Kanter and Harting in the discus
Gerd Kanter has to be the favourite to retain the men’s discus title, though the competition promises to be as entertaining as the shot. Although it was only qualifying Robert Harting threw further than the Estonian, something that no one has done in full competition for over a year. With the crowd behind him, Harting could be just as successful in the final. The man no one can overlook however is Virgilius Alekna. The Lithuanian has won everything in the sport, and despite advancing years just happens to be the last man to have beaten Kanter.
Pat Butcher for the IAAF
