Kiyeng leads Kenyan charge, Bahrain’s Jebet serves notice

World champion, Hyvin Kiyeng led compatriots Beatrice Chepkemoi and Lydia Chebet to the finals of the women 3000m from Saturday’s dramatic heats where their former country woman, Bahrain’s Ruth Jebet served an ominous warning by exploding in her preliminary race.

Two of the three races saw falls with the Olympics of Ethiopia’s Etenesh Diro ending in tears when she tumbled with two and a half laps to go in the final heat and losing a shoe where despite the crowd willing her on, she could only finish seventh (9:34.70).

That race was won by Beijing gold medallist, Kiyeng, who set out with comfortable place and allowed Australia’s Genevieve Lacaze (9:26.25) and American Courtney Frerichs (9:27.02) to keep her company before edging away from them at the homestretch for the win in 9:24.61.

She then turned in a show of compassion to Diro who had collapsed to the side of the track, sobbing uncontrollably, consoling the Ethiopian and trying to get her to her feet as the crowd roared on in encouragement following the incident in the back-straight that took out three athletes.

It was the slowest heat of the preliminary competition but the world champion will not be bothered ahead of her expected showdown for the gold with Bahrain’s Jebet on Monday when the medals will be decided.

Debutant Beatrice Chepkoech attacked from the back straight having trailed her challengers by 20m and sprinted to victory over the last 200m, passing the three athletes ahead of her with consummate ease in the second heat having led through the opening 1000m in 3:07.94.

The Kenyan eased off to allow American Emma Coburn to take charge at the front as the second kilometre was passed in 6:14.98.

However, in a move reminiscent of men’s champion Ezekiel Kemboi’s move for gold at last year’s IAAF World Championships, Chepkoech who was trailing Olympic champion, Tunisia’s Habiba Ghribi, Coburn and India’s Lalita Shivaji Babar with 300m to go injected a turn of speed that took out the competition.

The Kenyan powered away and was all out in front at the final bend before motoring home unchallenged for victory in 9:17.55 with Coburn (9:18.12) and Ghribi (9:18.71) following her across the line in that order.

Trailing them, Shivaji who fell at the first lap after hitting a hurdle, picked herself up to move to the lead by 800m before she proceeded to hammer the Indian national record at the end with her 9:19.76 effort for fourth.

In the first heat, Bahrain’s Ruth Jebet, the second fastest female steeplechaser of all time wasted little time to hit the front and pulled away from the competition, covering the opening kilometre in 3:06.84.

Running a honest race for a preliminary, Jebet, 19 continued stretching her legs as she pulled the field along, arriving at 2000m in 6:08.30, strong running for a heat and at the bell she was all clear.

By the time she was done, the clock read 9:12.63 after making the race look like a training job, with her time being faster than the personal best of most of the field as she sent a telling message to her rivals.

Behind her, Ethiopia’s Sofia Assefa (9:18.75) and Germany’s Gesa Felicitas Krause (9:19.70) ran smartly to come further back in second and third in the automatic qualifying places behind the teenager.

In March 2014, Jebet ran for her country of birth, Kenya at the East Africa Athletics Junior Championships before turning up for Bahrain in July of that year to win the Gulf State their first IAAF World Junior women steeplechase title for them.

American Colleen Quigley (9:21.82) came home for fourth ahead of Kenya’s Chebet (9:30.21) with both progressing as the fastest losers thanks to the searing pace set by the Bahraini world leader.

Behind them, Ukraine’s Mariya Shatalova (9:30.89) and Uganda’s Peruth Chemutai (9:31.30) were rewarded with lifetime bests.