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Conseslus Kipruto leads Kenyan quartet in quest for steeplechase gold

Kenya's dominance in the 3,000 metres steeplechase faces a stern test when the World Championships start on Friday in Oregon, USA.

Defending champion Conseslus Kipruto, Olympic Games bronze medallist Benjamin Kigen, 2017 World Under-18 2000m silver medallist Leonard Bett and Commonwealth Games silver medallist Abraham Kibiwott are carrying the nation's hopes of keeping the title the country has won in every World Championship since 1991 except in 2001 and 2005.

Kenyan-born Qatari Saif Shaheen, who holds the world record of 7:53.63 in the race, bagged gold in 2001 Saint-Denis and 2005 Helsinki World Championships.

Bett and Kibiwot are in the first heat where they will be seeking to make the final scheduled for Monday.

The top three athletes in each semifinal plus the six fastest losers will qualify for the final.

Bett and Kibiwott face an uphill task as they face Olympics champion Soufiane El Bakkali from Morocco in the first heat. Bakkali has a personal best time of 7:58.15 which is also the world-leading time.

Bett told Nation Sport that the plan is to safely navigate through the heats before they can hatch a plan on how to claim the medals in the final.

“We started our preparations early by joining the camp before the trials because the initial plan was to make sure we tackle the stiff competition especially from the two athletes (Girma and Bakkali) who have been on top form this season," said Bett.

“I won’t tell you who will win the gold medal but we have to work as a team to make sure we redeem our name as a country,” added Bett.

The second semifinal will see the Kipruto square it out with Ethiopia’s Lamecha Girma, whom he narrowly beat during the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar.

Djibouti’s Mohamed Ismail, Canada’s Ryan Smeeton, USA’s Hillary Bor are also in the field.

Kigen, Ethiopia’s Hailemariyam Amare, Tunisia’s Mohamed Amin, USA’s Evan Jager, Norway’s Jacob Boutera are in Heat Three.

Kipruto, who has been battling injuries after his triumph in Doha in 2019, is seeking to atone for lost time after missing the Olympic Games last year.

Kipruto finished fifth during the Athletics Kenya Track and Field Championships which acted as the trials for the Africa Senior Championships after clocking 8:32.24, before emerging in the same position during the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi last month.

“Kenyans should not be worried because this is a championship and you can’t compare it with the Diamond League races. It will be a tight contest in the final and I will be doing my best to make sure we bring back our glory as Kenyans,” Kipruto had said in an earlier interview before leaving for Oregon.

In the 2019 worlds, Kipruto won gold in 8:01.35 ahead of Girma who clocked 8:01.36 while Bakkali settled for bronze in 8:03.76.