S. OchiengOREGON22: Kipruto vows to restore Kenya’s fading glory in 3000m steeplechase
Reading Time: 3min | Tue. 19.07.22. | 19:18
El Bakkali’s win in 8:25.13 snapped Kenya’s streak of seven consecutive world titles in the 3000m steeplechase, including Kipruto’s run of two straight championships
Kenya’s World 3000m steeplechase bronze medalist Consenslus Kipruto has vowed to fight tooth and nail in order to restore the country’s disappearing glory in the 3000m steeplechase race that was once one of the nation’s forte in global athletic events.
This is after Morocco’s Sofianne El Bakkali, on Tuesday, became the first non-Kenyan athlete to hold the Olympic title as well as the World title in the 3000m steeplechase after crossing the line in first place to dethrone Kipruto as the new world champion in the ongoing 2022 World Athletics Championships taking place in the United States of America.
El Bakkali’s win in 8:25.13 snapped Kenya’s streak of seven consecutive world titles in the event, including Kipruto’s run of two straight championships.
What a race 💪
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) July 19, 2022
Olympic champion Soufiane El Bakkali 🇲🇦 battles hard, reigns supreme and confirms his 3000m steeplechase supremacy with world gold!#WorldAthleticsChamps pic.twitter.com/yZKXB5UtrM
The latest loss for Kenya followed on from the Tokyo Olympics in August last year when Bakkali’s win made it the first time the country had lost in a race it has been revered for close to five decades.
“ I did not execute the race as my plan , I was running against athletes who have two years of consistent running when I was struggling, it was never going to be easy. I take the bronze positively.
— Lynne Wachira (@WachiraLynne) July 19, 2022
Conseslus Kipruto will be heading to the commonwealth games in a few days. pic.twitter.com/yAYmlJxqR4
Kenya had dominated the event for so long, having won 13 of the past 15 titles. The only two previous times Kenya did not claim the title came in 2003 and 2005 when Saif Saaeed Shaheen, a Kenyan-born athlete running for Qatar, claimed the gold.
You gotta give it to @KipConseslus for having such an incredible fighting spirit. A tough three years he's had in the lead up to this bronze at the @WCHoregon22. This should feel just as good as his gold from 2019 pic.twitter.com/bgr4opS05A
— Matheka (@Lynmatheka) July 19, 2022
On the back of Bakkali’s dominance, Kipruto, the immediate former World champion, vowed to put in a shift with the rest of the pack to try and bring back glory to the country.
“Overall, despite not managing to defend my title, I am happy with coming back after two years and being a bronze medalist. Maybe next year we will be back and bring that glory back home. We are going back to sit as steeplechasers and find out where the problem is. I know we will come back strong next year. For now, I just want to say thank you to the fans for believing in us and cheering us,” he said.
Kipruto, who was making a difficult attempt to defend his title after a two year spell ravaged by injury struggles, unfinished races and a court battle, outlined how the race panned out for him as he delighted in claiming bronze.
“I was here to defend my title and we were there to team up with the others in order to bring back the glory for Kenya in the 3000m steeplechase. I gave it my all but I got bronze. I managed to control the first six laps which went according to my plan but the last 150m I got some challenges and we just have to accept that that happens in sports,” he said.
Other Kenyan representatives in the race were national champion Abraham Kibiwot (8:28.95) and Leonard Bett (8:36.74) who finished fifth and 15th respectively.
