Kipyegon, Yego lead Kenyan stars in season opening Diamond League outing

Double Olympic Champion in the 1500m event Faith Kipyegon will on Friday night headline a host of Kenyans who will be representing the country in the opening leg of the Wanda Diamond League set to be held at the Suhaim bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, Qatar.

Kipyegon, who improved her own national record to 3:50.37 last year, will line up for the women’s 1500m race alongside fellow Kenyan and former World Junior Championships winner Winny Chebet.

Those are not the only Kenyans involved however.

In the men’s 800m, the Kenyan duo of Noah Kibet and Wycliffe Kinyamal will lead Kenya’s quest in the two-lap event that will prove a test as they will have to beat Algerian Djamel Sedjati - a World Championships silver medalist in 2022.

Sedjati finished second in the 800m race in Eugene, clocking 1:44.14. He holds a personal best of 1:43.69.

Noah Kibet has been promising in recent months and clocked an astonishing world lead and personal best time of 1:44.98 at the Millrose Games in March. He is also the reigning champion of the race in Doha.

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World U20 cross-country champion Ishmail Kipkirui will also be in action in a star-studded men’s 3000m race event that will also include 2019 world 1500m champion Timothy Cheruiyot and 28 year old Kyumbe Munguti - set to make his Diamond League debut and holds a personal best of 1:46.96 in the 800m.

The 3000m race will also include Olympic 10,000m champion Selemon Barega, 2021 Diamond League 5000m champion Berihu Aregawi and fellow Ethiopians Getnet Wale and Telahun Haile Bekele.

Kenyan javelin star and 2015 world champion Julius Yego will fly the Kenyan flag in the final list of 10 that will provide tough opposition in the name of Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra and Two-time world champion Anderson Peters with a personal best throw of 93.07m.

Yego on the other hand has an African and Commonwealth record of 92.72m.

2022 Commonwealth Games gold medalist Jackline Chepkoech will have 3000M Steeplechase record holder Beatrice Chepkoech and star girl Faith Cherotich line up for the women’s 3000m Steeple-chase final that will also have Olympic champion Peruth Chemutai (Uganda), world bronze Medallist Mekides Abebe, Bahrain’s Winfred Yavi and 2017 world champion Emma Coburn of the USA.

You can catch the event from 2000 EAT live on the Wanda Diamond League Youtube channel.

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