WU20: Chepkirui out to defend 1500m title with 5000m medals up for grabs

Defending World Under-20 1500m champion Purity Chepkirui seemed shaky in her preliminary round at the junior championship, finishing third to book a place on the final. 

She faces an herculean task of defending the title she won in Nairobi last year when she lines up for the final set for Sunday 7 August from midnight (EAT).

A 4.08 runner, the African Championships silver medalist, Chepkirui, has Brenda Chebet who finished second during the national trials for company in the final. 

Chebet had a dominant performance in the heats to convincingly win her heat in 4:12.20, the fastest qualifying time from the heats. 

Meawhile Maureen Cherotich is looking to make amends for her performance last year where she finished sixth in the women's 5000m won by Ethiopia’s Mizan Alem. 

WU20: Silver and bronze for Kiptarus, Kimosong in men's 3000m

Kenya missed out on the podium as the other Kenyan representative Zenah Cheptoo was denied bronze by Uganda's Priscah Chesang, finishing in fourth place as Alem led Melknat Wudu to an Ethiopian 1-2. 

In this year's championship, Cherotich is joined by Jane Ghati in the west to reclaim gold that was last won by Beatrice Chebet in Tampere in 2018. 

Chebet's heroics in Tampere put a stop to an Ethiopian dominance that stretches over a decade but the Kenyan archrivals seem to have picked where they left with victory in Nairobi. 

WU20: Kenya out to defend 3000m steeplechase and 800m men's titles

Wudu, the silver medallist at 5000m and bronze medallist at 3000m last year, tops the entries with the 15:08.65 PB she ran to finish fourth at the African Championships. 

She also set a 3000m PB of 8:45.76 in Doha in May. She will be joined by teammate Medina Eisa, who lowered her PB to 15:14.01 last month. Bronze medalist Chesang is also in the mix.