Photo: REUTERS
By ELIAS MAKORI, Daily Nation
BEIJING — If Kenyans thought Kenenisa Bekele was done and dusted, then the bad news is that the unstoppable Ethiopian will reappear today when he competes in the 5,000 metres qualifiers in an attempt to clinch a double after winning the 10,000m gold on Sunday.
The Kenyans out to stop Bekele are Athens bronze medallist and former world champion Eliud Kipchoge, upstarts Edwin Soi and Thomas Longosiwa.
Longosiwa has been drawn in the most difficult of the heats and with the first four in each heat qualifying alongside the overall fastest three, he will be hard pressed to make an impression.
Delicately poised
Longosiwa’s heat three, which will be run at 3.55 pm Kenyan time has 2004 Olympic silver medallist and world record holder Bekele, world champion Bernard Lagat of USA, former Kenyan James Kwalia of Qatar and Australian Craig Mottram.
Soi will run in the second heat, which is also delicately poised, with double-chasing former Moroccan Rachid Ramzi of Bahrain Uganda’s Moses Kipsiro, Algerian Ali Saidi-Seif and Ethiopia’s Cherkos.
Kipchoge runs in the opening race from which he should qualify with ease, along with Kenenisa’s sibling Tadesse.
Today, Kenyan men will also start their quest to complete an 800m double following Pamela Jelimo and Janeth Jepkosgei’s brilliant 1-2 finish in the history-making women’s race on Monday.
World champion Alfred Kirwa Yego, former world indoor champion Wilfred Bungei and the dark horse in this entry, US-based Boaz Lalang, will carry the country’s flag.
“With the preparations that we have had, I’m sure we will make Kenyans proud – all the three of us running in the 800 metres,” said Bungei who is also the overall Kenyan captain at these Games.
Meanwhile, the three Kenyan women competing in the 5,000 metres all made it to the final after yesterday’s qualifiers.
Second heat
Last year’s World Championships’ silver medallist, Vivian Cheruiyot (season’s best 14:57.27), and Priscah Jepleting (14:58.07) finished second and fourth in the second heat won by defending Olympic champion, Ethiopia’s Meseret Defar (14:56.32).
Sylvia Kibet (15:10.37) had placed second behind 10,000m champion Tirunesh Dibaba (15:09.89) in the slowish opening heat that saw Ethiopia’s African champion Meselech Melkamu qualify in fourth place with fellow Ethiopian Alemitu Bekele in third.
The newly crowned Olympic steeplechase champion and world record holder, Gulnara Galkina-Samitova of Russia, also qualified in fifth place, as did other athletes chasing their second medals here, Turkey’s Elvan Abeylegesse, silver medallist in the 10,000m and USA’s Shalane Flanagan, bronze medallist in last Friday’s 10,000m final.
Bekele is one of the several athletes chasing double victories on the track and they include Jamaica’s 100m world record holder Usain Bolt who is actually going for a treble as, besides the 100m/200m double, he will make Jamaica’s 4x100m relay team.
Ethiopia’s Dibaba won gold in the 10,000m on Friday and she will be looking to improve on her Athens bronze medal in the shorter race where she is set to do battle with her countrywoman by fierce track rival Meseret Defar in the final that will be run on Friday.
In the 5,000m, Bekele will team up with his younger brother Tariku Bekele and world junior champion Abreham Cherkos.