WU20: Kimaiyo and Cheruiyot advance to 1500m final as youngsters start title defence

The Kenyan duo of Daniel Kimaiyo and Reynold Cheruiyot have laid bare their intentions of retaining the World Athletics U20 Championships 1500m title after comfortably cruising to the final on Monday at the Pascal Guerrero Olympic Stadium in Cali, Colombia.

The title in the three- quarter laps is in the custody of Vincent Keter who won it on home soil during the 18th edition of the championship held at the Kasarani Stadium.

Etiang challenges duo to retain World Athletics U20 1500m title

Kimaiyo, who was in heat one of the semifinals engaged an higher gear in the final bend to cross the line ahead of the rest in 3:42.69.

The youngster exchanged leads throughout the race with Adihana Kasaye of Ethiopia who finished second in 3:43.06.Filip Rak of Poland was third after clocking 3:44.84.

After watching his compatriots reign supreme in the first heat, Cheruiyot who was placed in the subsequent one broke from the rest in the first lap and incredibly maintained the breathtaking pace to the line.

Cheruiyot stopped the clock at 3:40.96, beating his closest challenger Vivien Henz of Luxembourg by almost more than five seconds to the top place. Max Davies of Canada was third.