'It felt almost like an Olympic final' - Faith Cherotich on Doha Diamond League heroics
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Reading Time: 2min | Thu. 22.05.25. | 18:02
The race carried the emotional weight of a rematch. At the Paris Olympics, it was Yavi who surged to gold while Cherotich settled for bronze
2024 Olympic bronze medalist Faith Cherotich delivered a heart-pounding finish in the women’s 3000m steeplechase at the Doha Diamond League on Friday, 16 May, outkicking Olympic champion Winfred Yavi in the final 50 meters to claim a sensational victory.
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Cherotich stormed to the front in a thrilling final sprint to clock a world-leading time of 9:05.08, narrowly beating Kenyan-born Bahraini Yavi, who finished second in a season’s best of 9:05.26.
Ethiopia’s Sembo Almayew was third in 9:09.27, also a season best.
“I think I can build on this momentum and continue with good results this season. First of all, I was very surprised by this result.
I did not expect to win… It was not an easy run because all of us were here to win,” she said.
The race carried the emotional weight of a rematch. At the Paris Olympics, it was Yavi who surged to gold while Cherotich settled for bronze.
The script, however, flipped in Doha. Cherotich controlled much of the early pace but was overtaken by Yavi in the second-last lap.
However, the 20-year-old Kenyan refused to back down, digging deep and launching a devastating final kick that powered her past Yavi in the dying moments.
“It felt almost like the (2024) Olympic final. When I won my medal in Paris, it helped me a lot in my life and helped me to focus on training and competing even more,” she disclosed.
This win marks Cherotich’s second consecutive Diamond League victory, following her triumph in Brussels last September, where she clocked 9:02.36 to clinch her first-ever Diamond League win.
That climaxed a breakout 2024 season, which included her Olympic debut and a personal best of 8:55.15 en route to bronze in Paris.
Cherotich has consistently expressed her ambition of delivering Kenya’s first Olympic gold in the women’s steeplechase, and she appears to be inching closer to that elusive dream.
Since the event was introduced at the Olympics in 2008, Kenya has collected three bronze and two silver medals, but the top step has remained just out of reach.
Legendary names like Eunice Jepkorir, Milcah Chemos, Hyvin Kiyeng, and world record holder Beatrice Chepkoech have come close but never struck gold.
With her current form, Cherotich is quickly becoming Kenya’s brightest hope to finally change that.
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