Kenya's Kipyegon takes battle to Dibaba in Paris Diamond League quest

Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-19 20:24:42|Editor: ZD
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NAIROBI, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's Faith Kipyegon will be among the seven reigning Olympic champions who will be out to confirm their fitness at the Paris Diamond League and provide an indication of what to expect at the London World Championships in August.

Kipyegon will be battling it out against world champion Ethiopian Genzebe Dibaba, who is also the world record holder.

Then there will also be Tunisia's Sifan Hassan, the world's best performer this year over the distance thanks to a time of 3:56.14.

"I have done well in training and have been racing sparingly to polish my skills, especially in sprinting. I hope Paris will give a direction on where I am in the build-up to London world championships," said Kipyegon in Nairobi on Monday.

However, there will be a little matter of concern for Kipyego this weekend in Nairobi as she steps out to secure her slot in the Kenyan team during the national trials.

Also running in Paris will be Timothy Cheruiyot, who surprised world 1,500m champion Asbel Kiprop for the second time, storming to victory with a world lead time of 3 minutes and 30.77 seconds on Sunday in Stockholm, Sweden.

Alsadik Mikhou of Bahrain, who boasted of the world lead time of 3:31.34 going into the Swedish capital, came in second in 3:31.49 as Ethiopian Aman Wote followed in 3:31.63 and Kiprop finished in fourth place in 3:33.17

"I am very happy. The race went to plan - I tried to go at 300m. I go back to Kenya now and prepare for the World Champs trials," said Cheruiyot.

Last year, the women's 3,000m steeplechase proved to be a highlight of the Paris Diamond League meeting.

Bahrain's Ruth Jebet is back at the spot where it all happened, with the aim of beating her world record.

To achieve this, she will be able to count on the Kenyan athlete Celliphine Chespol to drive her into a corner.

At just 18 years of age, Chespol created a stir on May 27 in Eugene by snatching victory, with the second best time in history (8:58:78), and the world junior record. She is an immense talent and as yet her potential is unknown.

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