NAIROBI, Kenya, June 6 – Fresh from setting history as the greatest ever runner in the women’s 1500m, Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon will be eyeing another challenge when she participates in the women’s 5000m at the next leg of the Diamond League in Paris on Friday.
Kipyegon took Florence by storm on Friday night, clocking 3:49.11 to smash the world record for the women’s 1500m and usurp Ethiopia’s Genzebe Dibaba as the fastest runner over the distance, in history.
In the French capital, Kipyegon will be meeting another Ethiopian, world 10,000m champion Letesenbet Gidey in what will be a battle of the world record holders.
Gidey timed 14:06.62 to set a new world record for the women’s 5000m in Valencia in 2020, following it up with another world record of 29:01.03 for the women’s 10,000m.
The Ethiopian was not done breaking records, clocking 1:02:52 at the Valencia Half Marathon in 2021 to set a new world record for the women’s 21km.
It will be a first meeting for the two although Gidey will be all-too familiar of the Kenyan threat, having faltered 100 metres to the finish line to allow Commonwealth Games 5000m champion Beatrice Chebet to overtake her and win gold at February’s World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, Australia.
Onward for Omanyala
Meanwhile, Africa’s fastest man, Ferdinand Omanyala, will be hoping for a first-ever win at the Diamond League when he takes to the starting blocks on Friday.
Olympics 100m champion Marcell Jacobs is in the start list for the race although many will be forgiven for being skeptical considering the Italian has pulled out of all the legs of the Diamond League thus far.
Regardless of the doubts over Jacobs’ availability, Omanyala still has plenty on his plate to ponder as far as other competitors are concerned, including his idol, Yohan Blake of Jamaica, world 200m champion Noah Lyles of the United States and World Under 20 100m champion Letsile Tebogo of Botswana.
Omanyala will be encouraged by his second-place finish at last Friday’s leg in Florence where he clocked 10.05 to finish behind world champion Fred Kerley of the United States.
Another Kenyan who will be in action on Friday night will be world and Olympic 800m champion Emmanuel Korir who will be competing in the men’s 800m.
The United States-based runner will be hoping for a morale-boosting performance after a disappointing eighth-place finish in Rabat, a fortnight ago.
He will be up against world 800m bronze medalist Marco Arop of Canada and Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati.
