Paris Olympics: Nelly Chepchirchir looking to carry Diamond League form to Paris
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Reading Time: 2min | Sun. 28.07.24. | 20:55
Born on June 4, 2003, in Nandi County, Chepchirchir, Faith Kipyegon and US-based Lilian Ejore will be seeking to keep Kenya’s dominance in the 1500 m event
Nelly Chepchirchir will be racing in the 2024 Paris Olympics with one goal in mind: to claim her first senior career medal in the 1500 m.
Born on June 4, 2003, in Nandi County, Chepchirchir will partners defending champion Faith Kipyegon and US-based Lilian Ejore in seeking to keep Kenya’s dominance in the 1500 m event.
Kenya is the most successful nation in the event, having won seven gold medals with Kipyegon, the holder of the Olympic Women's record of 3:53.11 minutes set in 2021.
Early Career and career
The 21-year-old began her career in the 400m and 800m disciplines while in school, where she later joined a training camp in Kapsabet under her coach Janeth Jepkosgei.
Chepchirchir competed at the 2022 World Athletics U20 Championships in Cali, Colombia and qualified for the final of the 800 meters, where she ran a new personal best time of 2:01.42 to finish fourth.
Fresh from setting a PB, Chepchirchir was in a class of her own in 2023 when she took part in the 800m event at the Grosseto, Italy, to set her new personal best of 1:58.23.
A month later, her illustrious career continued to blossom as she took part in the 1500 m race in Hengelo, setting another personal best and clocking 3:58.96
In July 2023, the youngster had a busy schedule that started with her bagging the Kenyan national trials title in 1500m in a time of 3:59.77. She then won the Gyulai Istvan Memorial World Athletics Continental Tour Gold in Szekesfehervar, Hungary, running 4:00.18.
At the 2023 World Athletics Championships, she won her heat and her semi-final in the 1500m to qualify for the final, where she finished fifth before taking part in the Diamond League in Xiamen, China.
2024 saw the Kapsabet-raised track runner take part in the 2024 Doha Diamond League, finishing third.
Olympic qualification
During the National Trials for the Olympics, Chepchirchir was one of the odds favourites to clinch a ticket to the Paris Olympics and failed to disappoint.
She came a distant second after track GOAT Faith Kipyegon.
Competition at Olympics
Apart from facing stern competition from his compatriots Faith Kipyegon and Lilian Ejore, Chepchirchir will look to beat stiff competition from Gudaf Tsegay and Jessica Hull.
Another threat will be Sifan Hassan and the USA contingent of Nikki Hiltz, Emily Mackay, and Elle St. Pierre.
Medal prospects
Having issued flashes of brilliance in the Diamond League and her early career, Chepchirchir has made it known that she is capable of the spectacular, but with the type of competitors in the field, a top-five finish and a new personal best would be fitting.
