Chemutai stellar, as Nakaayi’s thirst grows
Back to winning ways. Chemutai has struggled with fatigue and knee injury since striking gold at Tokyo Games last year but is finally picking the right paces. PHOTO | ISMAIL KEZAALA
What you need to know:
- Olympic 3000m steeplechase champion Peruth Chemutai looks to have a better knee after she conquered the mud on a tough course to win the 6.5km race at the CrossCup de Hannut race in Hannut, Belgium, on Sunday.
Middle-distance runner Halimah Nakaayi is hoping to improve her own national record (NR) over the 800m Indoor when she lines up at the Orbens Copernicus Cup in Toruń, France, today.
Nakaayi on Thursday broke the NR mark for a fourth time in a row to a time of one minute and 58.58 seconds via second place behind Jamaican Natoya Goule during the Lievin Meeting.
Now Nakaayi will hope tick more boxes in Toruń ahead of next month’s World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade, Serbia.
“Most important is that Nakaayi is showing her level again from the World Championships in Doha (back in 2019),” said her coach Addy Ruiter.
In Doha, Nakaayi posted a stellar final kick to win the world title. This time, as she embarks on building the bid to retain her title, Nakaayi is eyeing the podium in Belgrade.
The field in Toruń is a tough test for the 27-year-old. She is up against familiar foe Catriona Bisset, who posted an Australian and Oceanian indoor record of 1:59.46.
Bisset posted this time behind Great Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson on her indoor racing debut in Birmingham, England, last weekend.
Then, there’s Polish Angelika Cichocka who won Indoor silver in 2014 as well as Ethiopian pair of Hailu Freweyni and Tigist Girma.
Meanwhile, Nakaayi’s compatriot Winnie Nanyondo will hope to do better than eighth place she got in Lievin last week when she returns to compete over the 1500m race.
Elsewhere, Olympic 3000m steeplechase champion Peruth Chemutai looks to have a better knee after she conquered the mud on a tough course to win the 6.5km race at the CrossCup de Hannut race in Hannut, Belgium, on Sunday.
She posted a winning time of 20 minutes and 43 seconds ahead of Kenyan Beatrice Chebet, the 2019 junior world cross-country champion.
“Chemutai was strong mentally, she took the lead from the beginning,” noted Ruiter.
Chebet finished in a time of 20:56 ahead of another Ugandan Prisca Chesang. The world U-20 5000m bronze medallist Chesang clocked 21:16.
In the men’s 9.5km race, Rogers Kibet struggled with the tight corners of the course and eventually settled for second place in a time of 28:55, behind German Samuel Fitwi who was four seconds faster.
MEN’S RESULTS (9.5KM)
1.Samuel Fitwi GER 28:51
2.Rogers Kibet UGA 28:55
3.Samuel Habtom ERI 29:00
WOMEN’S RESULTS (6.5KM)
1.Peruth Chemutai UGA 20:43
2.Beatrice Chebet KEN 20:56
3.Prisca Chesang UGA 21:16
dkyeyune@ug. nationmedia.com
