NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 15 – Double Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon easily cruised into the women’s 1500m semi-final at the World Championships in Eugene Saturday morning as she won her Heat in 4:04.53, leading compatriot Winny Chebet into tomorrow’s race.
Kipyegon was in control of the race in the final two laps, having played second fiddle behind Japanese Nozomoi Tanaka, carefully calculating her kicks.
At the bell, the Kenyan who is seeking to reclaim the title she lost in 2019 moved to the front of the pack with Australian Jessica Hull and Ethiopia’s Freweyni Hailu frantically chasing her shadow.
At the home straight, sure that she was among the automatic qualifiers, Kipyegon eased down her pace and even in jogging form, none of the chasers could get to her.
Hull finished second in 4:04.68 while Hailu was third in 4:04.85.
Meanwhile, African champion Chebet also qualified automatically after finishing second in her heat. Chebet moved from fifth to second after running on the outside in the final 50m to easily secure a ticket to tomorrow’s semi-final.
She clocked a season’s best time of 4:03.12, finishing second behind Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay who timed 4:02.68.
Two other Kenyans, Judith Kiyeng and Edinah Jebitok missed out on qualification after finishing ninth in both their Heats.
