Kipsang shatters Olympic record, joins Cheruiyot in 1,500m final

Kenya’s Abel Kipsang smashed the Olympic record in the men’s 1500m when he ran 3:31.65 to secure victory in the second semi-final at the Tokyo Olympics on Thursday.

Kipsang who was the sole Kenyan in the second heat put in a strong finish to hold off European champion Jakob Ingebrigsten, who clocked 3:32.13 as Josh Kerr of Great Britain finished third in 3:32.18.

He obliterated the 21-year-old record of 3:32.07 set by countryman Noah Ngeny at the 2000 Games in Sydney, Australia.

He will team up with world champion Timothy Cheruiyot who secured an automatic qualification in the finals when he finished third in the first heat where he clocked 3:33.95, won by Jake Wightman of Great Britain who clocked 3:33.48.

The front-running Cheruiyot set the early pace but faded towards the end as Wightman overtook him to win the race.

In the same heat, another Kenyan Charles Simotwo missed out on the final set for Saturday, the penultimate day of the Games after placing sixth in 3:34.61.

There will be a new Olympic champion in the men’s 1500m after Matt Centrowitz – the American who won at Rio  2016– finished ninth in his semi-final.