Stockholm delight for Chelangat

Sarah Chelangat’s preparations for the Tokyo World Athletics Championships finely hit a greater gear during the Wanda Diamond League (DL) leg in Stockholm, Sweden at the weekend.

It’s true Tokyo Worlds may be still a little three months away but Chelangat’s desire to be a top competitor was laid bare on Sunday after she came second over the women’s 3000-metre race at the Bauhaus-Galan at the Olympiastadion in the Swedish capital.

Only denied victory by Australian Linden Hall, Chelangat powered to a national record (NR) mark of eight minutes and 31.27 seconds.

“The race was good,” Chelangat said after the race. “I expected the national record. My main goal is the World Championships.”

“Very good race,” her coach Addy Ruiter said. “I told her to start fast and try to win. And she did. It was only not enough for the win.”
True, Chelangat was denied a maiden DL win. The Ugandan to win a race on this circuit is Peruth Chemutai, who won the 3000-metre steeplechase race during the Eugene leg in Oregon, USA last year.

Whereas Chelangat erased her previous NR mark of 8:32.53 after Ugandan Winnie Nanyondo had taken the field through the first 1km in 2:49.57 and Caroline Nyaga led at 2km at 5:40.61, Hall won in a new personal best (PB) mark of 8:30.01.

However, Chelangat’s younger compatriot Keneth Kiprop had desired a new PB too in the men’s 5000-metre race but it did not materialize.

The 20-year-old came fifth in a race dominated by home boy Andreas Almgren. Kiprop posted 13:02.69. “The race was not easy,” Kiprop admitted.

“His start was not good and that cost him, this (was a) very fast pace, too much energy to go to the leaders,” Ruiter said of Kiprop. The race’s wavelight was placed at 12:45.01 for the European record, implying the field needed about 61.5 seconds per lap.

They went through the first kilometre with Polish pacer Adam Czerwinski leading at 2:33:17. There was work by another pacer Ethiopian Ybeltal Gashahun before Czech pacer Filip Sasinek through the group through 2km at 5:07.43.

Kiprop still looked okay but distant in sixth with six laps to go. When the pacers dropped, he was fourth at 3000 metres with Almgren, Mexican Eduardo Herrera and Ethiopian Kuma Girma ahead.

That front three had even broken away but Kiprop had Australian Ky Robinson on his heels. Herrera dropped off but Almgren and Girma hit the front harder with four laps to go.

Herrera then dropped to fifth but Australian Ky Robinson went ahead of Kiprop. Almgren produced a penultimate lap of 59.90 seconds before going clear of Girma, thereby adding a closing lap of 58.07 seconds to break Spaniard Mohammed Katir’s European record at 12:44.27.

Dutch Mike Foppen posted a national record of 13:02.43, to take fourth place ahead of Kiprop.

STOCKHOLM DIAMOND LEAGUE

WOMEN’S 3000M

1 Linden Hall (AUS)                         8:30.01

2 Sarah Chelangat (UGA)                  8:31.27

3 Inne Fitzgerald (GBR)                     8:32.90

DNF Winnie Nanyondo (UGA)         DNF

MEN’S 5000M

1 Andreas Almgren (SWE)                 12:44.27

2 Girma Kuma (ETH)                         12:57.46

3 Ky Robinson (AUS)                         12:58.38

4 Mike Foppen (NED)                        13:02.43

5 Keneth Kiprop (UGA)                     13:02.69