WU20: 400m duo Chelangat and Kimeu sail into Saturday's finals

One lap sprinters Sylvia Chelangat and Kennedy Kimeu cast away the disappointment of getting disqualified in the mixed relay as they qualified for the 400m finals in the ongoing World Athletics Under 20 Championships at Kasarani.

Chelagat ran a personal best time of 53.49 in heat 3 of the women's 400m to finish in second place behind Nigeria’s Imaobong Uko who topped in the third heat and registered an overall leading time of 52.33 into the final.

After enduring heartbreak in the 4X400m relay where she was part of the Kenyan team disqualified for line infringement despite a second-place finish that would have guaranteed the country a feature in the finals to be staged later on that Wednesday afternoon, the youngster left it late before snatching second place in the closing metres. She was placed 5th heading into the final straight but mustered strength under intense pressure to overtake three runners as she pinned down an automatic qualifying spot.

Upon sealing progression to the finals, the lone representative in the women's 400m race expressed how he turned the despair of disqualification into determination that handed her a chance of fighting for medal contention.

“When we were disqualified in relays I got disappointed but I was determined to do my best to advance in this one. I have done my personal best and I happy about it. If the next round will be tougher then I will improve my time more. I am happy to run at home, and I am confident that I will do better,” she said after the race.

In the men's 400m, Kimeu ran a season-best time of 47.05 as he finished in second place to progress alongside South Africa's Lythe Pallay who won the third heat with a time of 46.55.

After progressing to the finals taking place on Saturday, Kimeu, while expressing delight in shrugging off the race challenges, shifted his sights on bringing glory to the country as he set his ambition on bagging a medal in the one-lap race.

“Line one is always tough as you have to chase everyone but I was determined to advance to the final. The morale going into the race was low considering that we began on a sour note in the mixed relay. But being the skipper I had to lead by example by pushing myself. I hope I will make it to the top three in the final on Saturday. I participated in the past All Africa Games where we finished fourth and thus, I wasn’t nervous going into the championship," he said.

Kenya's other male participant in the 400m race, Elkanah Kiprotich Chemelil did not make it to the finals of the race as he finished third in heat 2.