Faith Kipyegon led compatriot Winnie Chebet into the London IAAF World Champ[ionships women’s 1500m semis. PHOTO/FILE
Also making through are defending champion and world record holder Genzebe Dibaba of Ethiopia, South African Caster Semenya who is making her debut in the event as well as Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands.
Running comfortably, Kipyegon ruled the final heat which was the second fastest, crossing the line first in 4:03.09 to stay on track to making history as the first ever Kenyan woman to win gold in the event at the worlds.
Meraf Bahta finished second in 4:03.23 ahead of Polish Sofia Ennaoui who crossed the line third in 4:03.35.
In the first heat of the night that featured a star studded team, Dibaba ensured the race was the fastest of the three, winning in 4:02 .67 ahead of Semenya who qualified second in 4:02.84 while Chebet was third in 4:03.19.
However, in the second heat that was won by Hassan in 4:08.89, Kenyan Judith Kiyeng failed to make it to the semi final after finishing third from bottom in 4:13.65.
American Jennifer Simpson automatically qualified in second place in 4:08.92 ahead of Ethiopian Gudaf Tsegay who timed 4:08.96 to settle third.
The semi-final will be held on Saturday ahead of the mouthwatering final that is scheduled for Monday night on the last event of Day 4.
