NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 13 – The 2024 15-circuit Diamond League season closes down on Friday and Saturday, with the final, big pay-day event going down in the Belgian city of Brussels, with several top flight Kenyan athletes lining up for the huge cashout.
The Diamond League final offers the biggest prize purse of the circuit, with winners of each individual event flying back home with USD30,000 (Approx Sh3.8mn), compared to the USD10,000 (Approx Sh1.3mn) from the other 14 races of the circuit.
On Thursday, Kenyans will be in action in four of the 16 Diamond League finals on cards. Kenyans will compete in the men’s 5,000m the men’s steeple, the women’s 800m and the men’s 1500m.
In the men’s 5,000m, the Kenyan contingent is led by Olympic Games silver medalist Ronald Kwemoi and Jacob Krop as well as Cornelius Kemboi and Nicholas Kimeli.
The Kenyan quartet face a tough assignment, with the Ethiopian legion led by Yomif Kejelcha and Olympics 10,000m silver medalist Berihu Aregawi.
In the men’s steeplechase, the Kenyan duo of Olympic bronze medalist Abraham Kibiwott and Amose Serem will fancy their chances, but know how hard it will be against reigning Olympic and World Champion Soufiane El Bakkali.
Can Kenyans wrestle back pride from Morocco?
The Moroccan has owned the steeplechase, erstwhile referred as the ‘Kenyan race’ and will look to extend his dominance with back to back Diamond Trophies.
Ethiopia’s Wale Getnet will also be in the mix to try out his luck.
The men’s 1500m will be viewed as the most competitive for the Kenyan legion. Fresh from winning two medals at the Olympic Games, the USA duo of Cole Hocker (gold) and Yared Nuguse (bronze) are seen as outright favourites.
With Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen also in the mix, it will be a fully explosive competitive race, expected to feature fast times.
Timothy and Reynold Cheruiyot as well as Brian Komen carry the Kenyan hopes, with Boaz Kiprugut tasked with pace-setting duties.
The last race featuring a Kenyan will be the women’s 800m, where Kenyan darling Mary Moraa will be competing in. Moraa won bronze at the Olympic Games and has been in fine form this season, winning three Diamond League races.
Great Briton Reekie Jemma has the fastest time this season in the pool of eight competing, while South Africa’s Prudence Segkodiso and Georgia Bell have also run faster than Moraa this season.
