Belgrade 2022: Kipsang delivers bronze for Kenya in 1500m final

Abel Kipsang was Kenya’s last hope for the medal on the last day of the World Indoor Championship in Belgrade and the 25-year old delivered under pressure and won the bronze medal in the 1500m finals for man. After Noah Kibet finished second in 800m men’s final on Saturday, Kipsang brought the second and the last medal for Team Kenya in this tournament, while Ethiopia’s Samuel Tefera finished first, just in front of Jakob Ingebrigtsen.

It was a straightforward race from the first moment. As soon as the race started, Kipsang was in front, determined to keep the pace. By the second lap, he was in second place as Norwegian and the biggest favorite Jakob Ingebrigtsen took over, with Ethiopians Samuel Tefera and Teddese Lemi behind. That order remained until the last three laps, and the race was rather boring. But, then the first stirring started. First, it was Lemi who surpassed Kipsang then the Australian Oliver Hoare tried to catch the leading four athletes (unsuccessfully) and with two more laps, Lemi and Kipsang were toe to toe.

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When the last lap was announced, Tefera started to speed up and eventually surpassed Ingebrigtsen in the last 10 meters for the gold, while Kipsang did the same with Lemi, but only moments before. The Kenyan had to give his best for this bronze, and he finished the race with his season’s best 3:33:36. Samuel Tefera and Jakob Ingebrigtsen were the only two finalists who had better season’s best than Kipsang and in the end, they were the only two athletes ahead of him.

After the race, Kipsang explained the tactics and thanked his fans.

“I’m very happy with the bronze because at previous championships I’ve just fallen short. At the African Games in 2019 I finished fourth and at the Olympic Games last year I also finished fourth. Today I’ve improved to third and won bronze and I’m happy. When we go to the World Championship in Eugene I will make sure Tefera and Ingebrigtsen don’t finish ahead of me. I must get gold. I like attacking from the front because I can’t survive if I stay at the back. I’m used to front-running. I will now work on my speed and by the time the World Championship comes round, I will be ready. There are many championships ahead, including the World Championships. I will not let my fans down. I remember when coming to Belgrade, I told them I won’t let them down. Although my target was to get gold, things went a bit wrong but I’m nonetheless happy with the bronze today and I will go for gold in Eugene. At the worst, I will be on the podium although I don’t want bronze again!” said Kipsang.