Julius Yego poses next to a strip showing his old NR of 86.88m in Ostrava. He bettered his Kenyan standard in Rome last night.
NAIROBI, June 5- Commonwealth and African champion, Julius Yego set yet another Javelin national record in successive weeks as Hyvin Kiyeng outlasted Virginia Nyambura in the women 3000m steeple in highlight Kenyan performances at the IAAF Diamond League Rome Golden Gala on Thursday night.
The 2011 World Cross silver medallist, Paul Tanui was once again rewarded with silver days after chasing Mo Farah to second over 10000m in Eugene when he dipped under 13 minutes for the first time in his career in a barnstorming 12:58.69 performance in 5000m.
Yego launched his spear out to a Kenyan record of 87.71m in round four, adding 85cm to his own mark set a week ago in Ostrava (86.88m) where he also achieved the milestone of being the first field athlete from his nation to triumph at an IAAF World Athletics Challenge event.
“My aim was to improve the feelings from my throws in Ostrava because it was a very difficult competition in cold weather. But I did not expect to improve the national record again, that surprised me a lot.
“I think I have put 90 percent of the energy into the race today, so there is still space to improve,” the Glasgow Commonwealth and two-time African champion who is aiming to be the first Kenyan to medal in a field event at a World Championships in Beijing this summer said.
Those who stayed up at to watch the ‘You Tube Man’ do his thing at Stadio Olimpico took to social media to hail yet another landmark performance from the self-made Javelin star.
“Another National Record from Yego what a week! We celebrate the performance,” Athletics Kenya CEO, Isaac Mwangi wrote on his Facebook wall in one of the many goodwill messages that flooded social media.
However, world champion, Vítězslav Veselý, took top honours and won his first competition outside his native Czech Republic for more than a year when he unleashed a terrific second-round throw of 88.14m before retiring in the next round.
During the final throws of the intriguing showdown, Trinidad and Tobago’s Olympic champion Keshorn Walcott also unleashed a national record of 86.20m.
-Kiyeng over Nyambura-
In the women’s 3000m steeplechase, Kiyeng took almost seven seconds off her personal best to win in a world leading 9:15.08 and come home ahead of her compatriot Nyambura, who caused a sensation when winning in Doha after being the designated pacemaker in the only Kenyan victory of the night.
Nyambura is a protégé of world champion Milcah Chempos and having taken more than 30 seconds off her best in Doha, she made a further improvement by more than five seconds when she finished second in 9:15.75.
It was a Kenyan 1-2-4 when Moscow 2013 silver medallist, Lydia Chepkirui ran 9:20.44 to finish just behind the medals with Ethiopia’s Hiwot Ayalew preventing the podium sweep in 9:16.87.
In the men 5000m, Ethiopian teenage sensation, Yomif Kejelcha, 17 became the first runner to run faster than 13 minutes in the 5000m this year when he beat a strong field to win in 12:58.39 at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Rome on Thursday (4).
In a stadium that, almost 20 years ago to the day, saw Moses Kiptanui set a world record of 12:55.30, it was an appropriate way to celebrate that anniversary.
Kejelcha came through the pack down the home straight to take more than 12 seconds off his best, set when winning at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Eugene last Friday, just edging out Japan-basedTanui, who had towed the field through much of the second half of the race before finishing second in a personal best of 12:58.69.
In an entertaining race, particularly over the last two laps with no fewer than eight runner seriously in contention, another three ran faster than 13 minutes in a mass finish.
Doha 3000m winner Hagos Gebrhiwet finished third in 12:58.69, his Ethiopian compatriot Imane Merga clocked 12:59.04 in fourth and Kenya’s Thomas Longosiwa came home fifth in 12:59.78.
Former World Cross junior and World Juniors titleholder, finished fourth in the women 1500m in 4:01.41 in a race won by Dutch runner Sifan Hassan (3:58.68) from a fierce battle for the line against American runner-up, Jennifer Simpson (3:59.31) and Ethiopia’s Dawit Seyaum (3:59.76).
It was an embarrassing outing for Olympics bronze winner, Timothy Kitum, in the men 800m when he ran 1:45.59 for 10th in a race where World champion, Ethiopia’s Mohammed Aman dropped a world leading 1:43.56 for victory.
Job Kinyor (1:43.92) followed Commonwealth champion, Botswana’s Nijel Amos (1:43.80) home for bronze with Ferguson Rotich (1:44.00) taking fifth.
-Sourced from IAAF
