Reynold Cheruiyot defeated a tough field to win the 1,500m gold at the current World Under 20 Championships in Cali, Colombia on Thursday morning.
Cheruiyot finished in 3:35.83, ahead of Ethiopia’s Ermias Girma (3:37.24), with another Kenyan, Daniel Kimaiyo, rounding out the podium in 3:37.43.
The Kenyans, together with the Ethiopian combo of Girma and Adihana Kasaye, were in the front of the pack from the start. However, Cheruiyot secured the title with a stunning kick on the home straight.
The Kenyan duo had grabbed the lead from the outset, opting to race ahead rather than risk being shut down by the police. The Ethiopian two also followed through, reducing the amount of ground they had to travel in the last lap.
At the start, Kasaye assumed the lead, attempting to close the distance, with Girma trailing and Cheruiyot wedged. Kimaiyo had begun to fade, and the race appeared to be between the Ethiopian couple and the Kenyan.
However, in the home stretch, the lanky Cheruiyot turned on the afterburners, pedaling down a solid finishing kick to defeat the Ethiopian, who did not react to the kick.
While Cheruiyot glided for gold, his compatriot Kimaiyo, who had appeared to be out of medal contention, pushed deep into his energy reserves to find some finishing power, passing down Kasaye for bronze.
Nelly Jepchirchir finished fourth in the women’s 800m final to lose out on the championship. She was rewarded, though, with a lifetime best time of 2:01.42.
Roisin Willis of the United States won the event in 1:59.13, followed by Audrey Werro of Switzerland in 1:59.53, and Juliette Whittaker of the United States in 2:00.18.
Sylvia Chelangat finished sixth in the women’s 400m semifinals with a season’s best time of 53.89 seconds.
Berta Segura of Spain won the heat in 52.51 seconds, with Precious Molepo of South Africa coming in second in 53.28.
Kenya will be represented in the final by Damaris Mutunga, who finished second in her semi-final with a personal best time of 52.29. Yemi John of the United Kingdom won the heat in a new personal best time of 51.72 seconds.
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Elkanah Chemelili finished eighth in the men’s 400m semifinals with a time of 48.03.
Botswana’s Busang Kebinatshipi won the heat in 45.91 seconds, with Thailand’s Joshua Atkinson coming in second in 46:13.
