Faith Cherotich was on the brink of surrender. With one lap to go in the women’s 3,000-metre steeplechase, Olympic champion Winfred Yavi still looked untouchable. But the 21-year-old Kenyan refused to bow.
“I wanted to give up,” Cherotich admitted after the race on Wednesday night. “But then I remembered I’m good in the last metres. At the last hurdle, I told myself, ‘This is my time.’”
With a searing final kick, Cherotich surged past Yavi in the closing straight to seize her first senior world title in a championship-record 8 minutes 51.59 seconds. Yavi, representing Bahrain but born in Kenya, had to settle for silver in 8:56.46. Ethiopia’s Sembo Almayew, just 20, claimed bronze in a personal best of 8:58.86.
The win was not only about speed but also resilience. Yavi had dictated the pace almost from the gun, her long stride and aggressive front-running leaving much of the field stretched and gasping. For Cherotich, the turning point came only after the final barrier. “I knew I had a strong finish, so I kicked,” she said, smiling through exhaustion. “Now I am happy to be a world champion.”
For Yavi, 25, the defeat marked her fourth loss to Cherotich this season. “In the last 200 metres, I was feeling strong, but I couldn’t keep the speed,” she said. Still, she vowed to come back. “I hope to win the world title again in two years and many more in the future.”
Cherotich’s victory continued a remarkable rise. At 17, she won bronze at the 2021 World Under-20 Championships in Nairobi. A year later, she upgraded to gold in Cali. She has since climbed the senior ranks, taking bronze in Budapest in 2023 and again at the Paris Olympics behind Yavi and Uganda’s Peruth Chemutai.
Wednesday’s win felt like vindication. “Improving from bronze to gold is amazing,” she said. “My coach told me, ‘Faith, you can do it.’ I believed in myself and it paid off.”
For Kenyan athletics, her triumph offered a welcome reminder of its enduring strength in middle-distance running, especially at a time when rivals from Bahrain and Uganda have challenged its dominance.
Cherotich, still only 21, has her eyes firmly on the future. “I want to thank all my fans for their support,” she said. “I hope I keep making them proud for many years.”
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