by Justin Lagat
This is the preview by Justin Lagat of the middle and long-distance events on Day 8.
On the penultimate day of the World Athletics Championships in Hayward field, when countries are making quick calculations on the number of gold medals they still need to move to a better position on the medal table, there will be the men’s Triple Jump, Javelin Throw, 800m, and 4x100m relay; and the women’s 5000m and 4x100m relay finals.
The women’s 5000m is set to be a Kenyan-Ethiopian affair. Kenya’s Margaret Chelimo, Gloria Kite, and Beatrice Chebet will be in action in a quest to try and secure more medals for their country. But, four leading times this year have been set by Ethiopia’s Ejgayehu Taye 14:12.98, Letesenbet Gidey 14:24.59, Dawit Seyaum 14:25.84, and Gudaf Tsegay 14:26.69. With only Taye not being in the final tomorrow, it will be a daunting task for the Kenyan women.
Standing in the middle of the long-standing Kenyan-Ethiopian battle that has seen the two countries win the last 9 gold medals in this event, with 5 for Ethiopia and 4 for Kenya, will be Siffan Hasan of the Netherlands. Although, having finished outside the medal bracket in the 10,000m event, she seems not to be in her best form at the moment.
Tsegay, Gidey, and Chelimo will be coming back for more medals in this event, with the Kenyan hoping to improve on her 10,000m bronze medal, while Gidey will be hoping for a double win at the championships. Tsegay, who won silver in the women’s 1500m, is also part of the strong contenders in this event.
The men’s 800m final will be thrilling and interesting to watch, with three Kenyans, two Algerians, a Canadian, a French, and an Australian in the mix. This appears to be an open race.
From the three semi-finals on Day 7, Slimane Moula of Algeria is the fastest qualifier, having won the third and fastest heat in 1:44.89, followed by Marco Arop of Canada in 1:45.12. Also, from Algeria was the winner of the second semi-final, Djamel Sedjati in 1:45.44, with Gabriel Tual of France finishing second in 1:45.53.
Kenya’s Wycliffe Kinyamal, who was the winner of the Kenyan trials, won the first semi-final in 1:45.38 ahead of compatriot and Olympic Champion Emmanuel Korir, who finished second for the automatic qualification in 1:45.49.
The non-automatic qualifiers into the final were Peter Bol of Australia and Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya.
