by Larry EderThis is the second story from Justin Lagat, senior writer for RunBlogRun in Kenya. The working conditions were rather challenging for Justin, as he wrote this from the middle of the field and took photos for RBR as well. Watch for two more stories from the Kenyan National Trials, held on 22 July, a Tuesday. The attendance was free, but it was middle of work week. The original date of the event had been changed, hence the Tuesday date.
Chebet and Ngetich will double in the 10,000m and 5000m in Tokyo 25
The women’s 10,000m was the first event on track, and some of the names featured at the 5000m trials in Eugene, Oregon, featured again.
This time round, the 2024 All-African champion Janeth Chepngetich was lucky to secure her spot for the Tokyo World Championships after running a winning time of 30:27.0, becoming the first one to do so on a chilly and cloudy morning at the Ulinzi Sports Complex in Nairobi.
Ngetich, the world record holder for the 10K event, followed in 30:27.4 for second place, while Beatrice Chebet, the world record holder for the 10,000m, finished third in 30.27.5.
As they lined up for the race, the runners appeared to be under no pressure, judging from their smiles during the introduction. After Chebet was introduced, the announcer mentioned Agnes and paused momentarily. Chebet nudged Ngetich on the shoulder. They both smiled as she raised her hand, and the announcer proceeded to mention the next contestant on the start line.
From the start of the race, which had seven runners, Chepngetich appeared intent on either winning it or going after a fast time, as the rest followed her in a single file.
At the midway point, Agnes Ngetich overtook her and increased the pace slightly to whittle down the leading pack to just three runners. Beatrice Chebet stuck behind the two leaders all this time as though buying her time to unleash a kick at the final lap.
Towards the end of the race, Chepngetich again moved to the front. At the bell, she increased the pace, and Ngetich and Chebet matched her strides, but none could overtake her. Perhaps the two were just doing enough to ensure they were in the team.
While most of the runners, especially the winners in their respective events, had their names printed on their bibs, the winner of the men’s 5000m race only had number 132 printed on his chest.
Contrary to the women’s 10,000m race, the men’s 5000m produced some surprises. The main protagonists and those with the world championships qualifying times failed to finish or did not feature on the podium.
Kemboi, who has a personal best time of 13:10, dominated the last stages of the competitive race to lead Mathew Kipsang and Kelvin Kiplagat, two other surprise podium finishers.
Eugene 2022 world silver medalist Jacob Krop and 5K world bronze medalist Nikolas Kipkorir finished outside the podium. The other big name, Paris Olympic silver medalist Ronald Kwemoi, dropped out of the race midway.
Because third place was reserved for the officials to put in a runner of their choice, Kipkorir was named on the team. The two top finishers were given until 24 August to meet the 13:01.00 5000m Tokyo qualifying time to be included in the team.
