Taki dives to second gold in Kenyan 1 and 3

Kumari Taki fulfilled his favourite role and added the World Under 20 crown to the World Under 18 title on Thursday night for Kenya’s second gold in Bydgoszcz, Poland but only just.

Compatriot Anthony Kiptoo followed the winner for the third medal to lift his nation to fourth overall in the standings with two gold and a bronze as the third day of the IAAF global track and field biennial age event closed.

Taki who soared to his first global title in Cali, Colombia last year left his blood and sweat on the track to continue his rise in the ranks in an an enthralling finish to the men 1500m final.

To get the gold, the 17 year-old literally took a dive for the honours to fend off the fast finishing Ethiopian Taresa Tolosa with the timers returning 3:48.63 against 3:48.77, implying it took 14th hundredth of a second between glory and the bridesmaid.

“I knew that the Ethiopian had a stronger kick than me so I had to dive at the line, and I made it,” Taki told the IAAF, whose 3:36.38 from last year’s final in Cali remains his personal best. “I wanted this for a long time.”

To the race. The opening two laps were pedestrian, 1:06.70 at 400 and 2:12.99 at 800m with Taki, a runner who prides in the fast finish edging ahead at the bell as Kiptoo as well as the Ethiopian in close attendance.

Taki had a two-step lead midway through the final bend, when Kiptoo moved into second. Tolosa made his move as he entered the final stretch, first powering by Kiptoo and readying to storm by Taki as well.

But the new World Championships Under 20 champion held his positions before making his desperate lunge to secure Kenya’s 10th title in the event.

In the blanket finish, Kiptoo held on for bronze in 3:49.00 with Mischler and Indian Ajay Kumar Saroj just a step behind in 3:49.52, with the Frenchman given the nod for fourth.

The other spark from the Kenyan juniors was in the men 400m where Geoffrey Kiprotich put his name among the favourites for the podium when he ran the second fastest time of the semis of 45.38 to win the third race in a career best.

It was the end of the road for compatriot for Edwin Ndeeti (47.51) who tailed the field in sixth in the previous penultimate showdown to miss Friday’s final.

Elsewhere as the afternoon session of Day 3 unravelled, Maureen Thomas was rewarded with a new national Under 20 record of 52.09 but did not feature in the podium when she finished fifth in the women 400m final.

The gold landed in the hands of the Caribbean as Jamaica’s Tiffany James setting a new world Under 20 record of 51.32 to power to the honours ahead of American Lyna Irby who settled for silver in 51.39.

Having qualified as a fastest loser from the semis, Betty Chepkemoi Sigei was pushed down the order to seventh in the women 2:06.27 as American Samantha Watson helped her nation to the overall lead by taking gold in 2:04.52 with countrywoman Aaliyah Millar followed for the 1-2 in 2:05.06.

Material from IAAF was used to compile this report

RESULTS MEN 1500m

1. Kumari Taki KEN 3:48.63
2. Taresa Tolosa ETH 3:48.77
3. Anthony Kiptoo KEN 3:49.00
4. Baptiste Mischler FRA 3:49.52
5. Ajay Kumar Saroj IND 3:49.52
6. Matthew Ramsden AUS 3:50.50
7. Jordi Torrents ESP 3:50.93
8. Asres Guadie ETH 3:50.95
9. Jakob Ingebrigtsen NOR 3:51.09
10. Josh Kerr GBR 3:51.23