PARIS, France, Aug 2 – Running a successful 1500m race entails a unique blend of strength, speed, endurance as well as mental toughness and Kenya’s 1500m star Timothy Cheruiyot is leaving nothing to chance.
The Tokyo Olympics 1500m silver medalist says running with a strategy at the ongoing Olympics in Paris will enable him conserve energy and run more efficiently, as well as faster in the upcoming races.
Should he qualify for the final, Cheruiyot hopes he’ll pull away from the competition while also holding on to some energy to attack.
Cheruiyot qualified fifth in heat 2 behind Ethiopian Ermias Girma, Cole Hocker of Team USA, Italian Pietro Arese and Niels Laros of The Netherlands.
But talking of his heat position, Cheruiyot alleyed fears: “It’s no cause for concern. My race was really fast, faster than the other heats, but then again, the essence is to prevail the next level,” the 2019 World Champion told Capital Sport.
He added, “I am saving my best for the final and I’m hoping that the three of us Kenyans will be in the finals.”
Cheruiyot has since struggled to produce great results since the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Oregon following a torn knee which has cost him a lot more in terms of training and general performance.
But he hopes that he will be faster in the last 200 to 300 metres for a strong finish in the finals, using the energy he will have conserved during the heats and semis.
“Our heat was good, very competitive though. I am happy am in and the next focus is the semi-final and final. Number 5 is good for now. Our heat was too fast but the target for the semis will again be to prevail.”
“Running in the heats is all about containing yourself not to run too fast because the final will be very fast and the semis even faster, as there are very fast guys. So, we need to conserve energy so that when we get to the final, we will be good in good form.”.
Cheruiyot believes their track adversaries are in good physical conditioning as the final race will not be that easy.
He says that the last time he felt this good was in 2019 at the Doha worlds where the racked-up gold.
“For the semis we will have a sit-down with our technical team and see how we’ll plan. It’s my prayer that we sail through to the finals the three of us. Races keep changing by every Olympic cycle, in many facets, and every race gets fattest and faster, so Paris will be a hard nut to crack,’ he emphasized.
Cheruiyot (born 20 November 1995) is the 2020 Tokyo Olympic silver medalist in the event and the 8th fastest athlete of all time over the distance.
At the World Athletics Championships, Cheruiyot won the silver medal in 2017 in London, and a gold in 2019 in Doha.
He took the silver medal in his specialty event at the 2018 and 2022 Commonwealth Games, and is also a two-time African Championship silver medallist from 2016 and 2018.
Cheruiyot won the 1500 m Diamond League title on four occasions: in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2021.
1500 METRES MEN-02 AUG 2024 -HEAT 2
1 ETH Ermias GIRMA 3:35.21 Q
2 USA Cole HOCKER 3:35.27 Q
3 ITA Pietro ARESE 3:35.30 Q
4 NED Niels LAROS 3:35.38 SB Q
5 KEN Timothy CHERUIYOT 3:35.39 Q
6 POR Isaac NADER 3:35.44 Q
7 GER Marius PROBST 3:35.65 Re
8 IRL Luke MCCANN 3:35.73 Re
9 ESP Adel MECHAAL 3:35.81 Re
10 GBR George MILLS 3:35.99 Re
11 AUS Stewart MCSWEYN 3:36.55 Re
12 BEL Ruben VERHEYDEN 3:36.62 Re
13 RSA Tshepo TSHITE 3:36.87 Re
14 CAN Charles PHILIBERT-THIBOUTOT 3:36.92 Re
15 FRA Maël GOUYETTE 3:37.87 Re
TIMOTHY CHERUIYOT FACT FILE
Name: Timothy Cheruiyot
Sport: 1,500m
Born: November 20, 1995
Weight:
Height: 5.9ft
Personal best
800m: 1:45.11 (Nairobi 2019)
1,500m: 3:28.28 (Monaco 2021)
Mile: 3:49.64 (Oregon 2017)
2,000m: 5:03.05 (Nairobi 2020)
3,000m: 7:36.72 (Doha 2023)
5,000m: 13:47.2 (Nairobi 2020)
Olympics: silver, Tokyo 2020
-Alex Isaboke is reporting from Paris, France-
