by Justin Lagat
Hyvin Kiyeng, Rome DL, photo by PhotoRun.net
Sondre Moen, photo by PhotoRun.net
The Oslo Bislett Games are the Diamond League meeting number five, and is being held on June 7. Our friends in Oslo have focused on some key rivalries for Scandanavia. Here is Justin Lagat’s View from Kenya.
Emma Coburn of USA and Aisha Praught of Jamaica will be running against Hyvin Kiyeng of Kenya in the women’s 3000m steeplechase at the Oslo Bislett Games on Thursday:
Arguably, the two women who have recently caused major upsets and surprises for Kenyans in the women 3000m steeplechase, a distance they seem to be slowly getting to dominate the world in and taking after their male counterparts, are Emma Coburn and Aisha Praught.
Many are still wondering how the race would have unfolded had Emma Coburn not fallen down at the last water jump during the last 3000m steeplechase race during the Rome Diamond League where Kenyan women had eventually swept all the podium places. They should not keep wondering for long. Together with her compatriot Courtney Frerichs who took silver at the Lodon world championships just behind her, she will be back in action again at the Bislett Games in Oslo this weekend. The experienced Hyvin Kiyeng will definitely be the biggest threat to Coburn and company.
Little known Aisha Praught of Jamaica had beaten some of the best women runners from Kenya in the women’s 3000m steeplechase race at the Commonwealth Games in Australia earlier this year. She had suddenly entered in the leading pack that was comprised of three Kenyans and started spoiling the party for them. Celliphine Chespol had tried to break away and go for the individual title, but Praught had ran her down and overtook her just after the final water jump. Praught will as well be back again this weekend to test the Kenyans, although she will be up against Hyvin Kiyeng who just won the event at the Rome Diamond League, a race that Praught had finished in 8th position.
Other distance events of the evening will include the women 800m, a race in which Caster Semenya is seen as the obvious favorite to win, unless she steps on the inside lane and gets disqualified, or something else like that happens! The Dream Mile will feature world champion, Elijah Managoi, who has consistently been finishing in top three places in the last diamond league races. A non-diamond league 1500m men’s race will have Chris Ohare as the fastest on paper.
There will also be a rare men’s 10,000m race that will feature some of the the greatest long distance runners from Europe including Sondre Moen (Eropean marathon record holder in 2:05:48), Arne Gabius and Julien Wanders.
