L. MathekaCan Kenya reclaim the men's 1500m crown in the busy 2023 season?
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Reading Time: 3min | Sat. 31.12.22. | 10:43
The country had not lost the world titles since 2011 in Daegu before Wightman's victory in Oregon.
Former World Athletics champion Timothy Cheruiyot has had a bag of mixed results since his World title in 2019 but he still is the man to watch as far as Kenya's exploits in the men's 1500m goes.
In a busy 2023 season that will have athletes compete in the world championships set for Budapest in August, Kenya will be looking to reclaim the title won by Jake Wightman of Great Britain in the 2022 edition held in Oregon.
Kenya had not lost the men's 1500m world title for five editions straight since Asbel Kiprop won in Daegu 2011. He went on to lift two more titles in Moscow 2013 and Beijing 2015. Elijah Manang'oi won the 2017 event in London with Cheruiyot winning in Doha in 2019.
The writing was, however, on the wall in 2022 that chances of Kenya losing the streak were high even as Abel Kipsang had some dominant performance in the Diamond League and continental tours.
At the end of the season, Kipsang is still the highest ranked Kenyan, managing fourth in the season's top list and second in the world ranking led by Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen.
Ingebrigtsen started his 2022 season with a world indoor record but then lost out in a battle for the world indoor title in Belgrade.
He also had to settle for silver at the World Championships in Oregon but rebounded to win European gold and the Diamond League title, clocking a world-leading 3:29.02 to do so.
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Samuel Tefera, meanwhile, might have lost his world indoor record to Ingebrigtsen but then he retained his world title, and Wightman won a surprise world title in Oregon but was then beaten into bronze in a thrilling Commonwealth Games final, won by Australia’s Oliver Hoare.
Ingebrigtsen got the year started on an incredible high in Lievin. With the world indoor record in his sights, the 22-year-old ended up running 3:30.60 to take 0.44 off the mark that had been set by Tefera in 2019. It was Tefera who he beat, the 23-year-old finishing three seconds back.
Tefera’s world indoor title-winning time remained the second-best of the season behind Ingebrigtsen’s world record, while Britain’s Josh Kerr ran 3:32.86 in Boston and Kenya’s Kipsang clocked 3:33.36 for bronze in Belgrade.
In the 2022 outdoor season. Kipsang, winner of the African title in June, ran 3:31.01 in Nairobi in May and that remained the world lead through to the World Athletics Championships in Oregon where Wightman ran a PB of 3:29.23, the third-quickest ever in the history of the World Championships.
Ingebrigtsen was second in 3:29.47 and would go on to win the 5000m title five days later, while Spain’s Mohamed Katir got bronze in 3:29.90
After the World Championships, Ingebrigtsen won the European Championships final in 3:32.76 and the Lausanne Diamond League in 3:29.05, before taking his first Diamond Trophy in the third-fastest time of his career.
Kenya will rely on Cheruiyot, Kipsang and youngster Reynold Kipkorir, the world Under-20 champion who is likely to make the switch to the senior ranks.
Also making a return will be Manang'oi after serving his ban for anti-doping violations and largely quiet 2022 where he only competed locally in an attempt to find his rhythm again.
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