World Under-20 steeplechase champion Edmund Serem boosted Kenya’s medal count at the Tokyo World Championships by storming to bronze in the grueling water-and-barrier event.
Serem clocked 8:34.56 to claim his first senior global medal in a race that delivered one of the competition’s biggest shocks.
New Zealand’s Geordie Beamish stunned Olympic champion Soufiane El Bakkali with a blistering sprint finish to grab gold in 8:33.88, edging out the Moroccan by a whisker at 8:33.95. Olympic bronze medallist Abraham Kibiwott failed to keep pace and dropped out before the finish.
In the men’s 1,500m semifinals, 2022 World U-20 champion Reynold Cheruiyot led Kenya’s charge into Wednesday’s final, winning Heat Two in 3:36.64 ahead of American Cole Hocker (3:36.67) and Spain’s Adrian Ben (3:36.78).
Timothy Cheruiyot, the 2020 Olympic silver medallist, also advanced after finishing fourth in Heat One in 3:35.61, just behind the Netherlands’ Niels Laros (3:35.50) and Britain’s duo Josh Kerr (3:35.53) and Jake Wightman (3:35.56).
Kenya’s Wiseman Were secured a place in the men’s 400m hurdles semifinals, clocking 48.27 to finish fifth in his heat. Although Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba (48.03), Britain’s Tyri Donovan (48.26), and American Chris Robinson (48.27) grabbed the automatic slots, Were’s time was enough to qualify among the fastest losers. The 25-year-old will be chasing a first World Championships final after missing out in Budapest 2023, where he finished sixth in his semifinal.
Kenya’s marathoners endured a tough outing earlier in the day. Kennedy Kimutai placed 16th in 2:11:45, Vincent Ng’etich finished 22nd in 2:13:38, while Hillary Kipkoech did not finish. Tanzania’s Alphonse Simbu made history by winning his country’s first-ever World Championships gold in 2:09:48, holding off Germany’s Amanal Petros (2:09:48) and Italy’s Iliass Aouani (2:09:53).
In the women’s steeplechase heats, Olympic bronze medallist Faith Cherotich cruised to victory in Heat One in 9:13.95, edging Kazakhstan’s Norah Jeruto (9:14.25) and Britain’s Elise Thorner (9:14.37) to reach the final. Celestine Biwot missed out after finishing seventh in 9:22.55, while Pamela Kosgei bowed out in Heat Two with a 10th-place finish in 9:28.21.
Doris Lemong’ole kept Kenya’s hopes alive in Heat Three, clocking 9:08.97 for second place behind Uganda’s Peruth Chemutai (9:07.68), to book her spot in the final.
