- Mary Moraa has broken the national 400m record for the second time
- Jacon Krop ran the World’s fastest time in the 5,000m this year
- The Diamond League heads to the finale in Zurich next weekend
Mary Moraa and Jacob Krop were Kenya’s top performers at the penultimate leg of the World Athletics Diamond League in Brussels on Friday night.
Moraa broke the 400m national record for the second time in less than three months while Krop clocked the fastest 5,000m time in the world this season.
Despite finishing fourth in the women’s 400m, Moraa, the reigning Commonwealth Games 800m champion ran her quickest time ever in the single lap race, clocking 50.67secs in a race won by Cofil Fiordaliza of the Dominican Republic.
Moraa had run a time of 50.84 at the National Trials for the Commonwealth and World Championships in July, but has now further lowered that mark.
She started off in lane three and coming to the penultimate bend, she was the last one and se seemed to be dropping off. However at the home stretch, she put on a superb burst, powering down the final 120m with good pace to finish fourth.
Krop dominates the 5,000m
Krop meanwhile totally dominated the men’s 5,000m, running the quickest time of the year as he won in 12:45.71, which has now also become his personal best.
Krop broke away from the rest of the pack with three laps to go and didn’t look back as he ran a solo race, edging out American Grant Fisher who attempted to trail him down the track to no success.
Compatriot Nicholas Kimeli came home fourth in a time of 12:50.97. Daniel Simiu was seventh but ran a personal best time of 12:54.90 same as Cornelisu Kemboi who also timed his lifetime best of 13:03.49.
World Championships silver medalist Stanley Waithaka was 14th in 13:24.43.
Emmanuel Korir beaten in the 800m
In the men’s 800m, World Champion Emmanuel Korir was beaten to third with a photo finish in a race won by 1500m World Champion Jake Wightman in a Personal Best time of 1:43.65.
Wightman had been in the lead at the bell, just a step behind the pacemakers but once they dropped out, he made his move. He strode ahead of the pack with Korir, Canada’s Marco Arop and Kenya’s Commonwealth Games champion Wycliffe Kinyamal trailing him.
At the final bend, the Briton put up a sprint and despite being a 1500m runner, showed superb kick to beat Korir who was trying in vain to close the gap.
The Kenyan was beaten to third by World Championship silver medalist Djamel Sedjati who dipped his chest ahead of him at the line. The Algerian timed 1:44.12, same as Korir, but was placed second on the photo-finish with a microsecond gap.
Kinyamal finished sixth while the other Kenyan in the race, Ferguson Rotich, was eighth.
Jackline Chepkoech rules the steeple
In the women’s steeplechase, Commonwealth Games champion Jackline Chepkoech put up a brilliant display to win the race in a new Personal Best time of 9:02.43, edging out Ethiopia’s Getachew Werkuha and Kenyan-born Bahraini Winfred Yavi.
Chepkoech controlled the race and laid down her marker at the bell, taking a commanding lead to see off the chasing pack.
Kenya’s World Under-20 Champion faith Cherotich was fourth, while world record holder and former world champion Beatrice Chepkoech who was competing for the first time in almost three months finished 11th, 22 seconds behind the winner.
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