What awaits Kenyan stars at the Xiamen Diamond League?

Kenyan track and field stars will kickstart their 2025 campaign with a bang on Saturday, 26 April, when the Wanda Diamond League season opens at the Egret Stadium in Xiamen, China.

For many, this is the first stop on a long journey towards the Diamond League Final in Zurich in August and the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo in September.

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The return of Faith Kipyegon

Fresh from claiming her third Olympic 1500m title in Paris last year, the indomitable Faith Kipyegon is back on track for her 2025 debut.

But she will not be running her usual 1500m. Instead, the triple Olympic champion will drop down to the 1000m, a rarely run distance. At this distance, she already sits second on the world all-time list with her 2:29.15 mark from Monaco 2020, just 0.17 seconds shy of the world record.

This will be Kipyegon’s first race since winning her fifth Diamond League title last September in Brussels and her first appearance since racing at the Athlos meeting. She is also making a comeback to China after missing out on the 2024 Xiamen Diamond League due to injury.

The field in Xiamen will feature stiff competition, including Ethiopia’s world U20 champion Saron Berhe, Olympic 800m silver medalist Tsige Duguma, Australia’s Abbey Caldwell, Uganda’s Halimah Nakaayi, and Benin’s Noelie Yarigo.

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Clash of queens in the 5000m

In what promises to be one of the most electrifying events of the day, Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet will take on Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay in the women’s 5000m. This will be a heavyweight clash between global champions and world record-holders.

Chebet, who bagged a memorable 5000m and 10,000m Olympic double in Paris, is the current world record-holder in the 10,000m and 5km road race.

Tsegay, meanwhile, holds the world record in the 5000m and recently claimed the world indoor 1500m title in Nanjing.

Their head-to-head record in the 5000m finals currently stands at 3-2 in Tsegay’s favor, setting the stage for a thrilling rematch, their first since the Olympic Games.

Also lining up are Ethiopia’s two-time world indoor champion Freweyni Hailu, teen sensation Birke Haylom, and steeplechase world U20 champion Sembo Almayew, who will be making her 5000m debut.

Omanyala targeting speed statement

Africa’s fastest man, Ferdinand Omanyala, will be looking to make a statement when he steps onto the track for his first Diamond League race of the season and his first outside Africa this year.

Omanyala, who finished second at the FNB Botswana Golden Grand Prix earlier this month, will face a stacked 100m field in Xiamen.

His biggest threats include Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo and South Africa’s Akani Simbine, who currently holds the second-fastest 100m time this year and already edged Omanyala in Gaborone.

The lineup also features Great Britain’s Jeremiah Azu and Lachlan Kennedy, who were standout performers during the indoor season. The race is scheduled for 3:01 pm EAT.

Kenyan steeplechasers out to upset Bakkali

The men’s 3000m steeplechase will reignite one of track’s most enduring rivalries: Kenya vs Morocco.

Olympic bronze medalist Abraham Kibiwott, World U20 champion Edmund Serem, Diamond League winner Simon Koech, and Wilberforce Kones will all be in action, aiming to end Morocco’s Soufiane El Bakkali’s reign.

Bakkali, who is the reigning Olympic and world champion, remains unbeaten in major finals since 2021.

However, Kenya’s quartet hopes to rattle him early in the season and reclaim dominance in a race originally owned by Kenyans.

Kibiwott comes into the event after a solid third-place finish at the National Police Service Cross Country Championships, while Serem will be racing for the first time this year.

Kones placed seventh in Gaborone, where Ethiopian runners dominated the podium.

The showdown is set for 3:33 pm EAT and could set the tone for the rest of the season.