Focus on Chebet as Diamond League action shifts to Oslo
Athletics
By
Stephen Rutto
| Jun 14, 2023
After Paris where two world records, the women's 5,000m and men's 3000m steeplechase were shattered and the men's two-mile best time set last Friday - the Diamond League action moves to Oslo, Norway tomorrow evening.
A stellar field of track stars has been assembled for the Bislett Games in Oslo in what is likely to be another tough contest and threat to records.
The focus will be on the women's 3000m where top stars led by World Cross Country champion Beatrice Chebet will feature.
World 5000m silver medallist Margaret Chelimo, World Cross Country bronze medallist Agnes Jebet Ngetich and former World Under-18 3000m champion Lilian Kasait are also lining up in the fifth Diamond League leg.
Ethiopian Hawi Feysa and Sarah Chelangat of Uganda will also be eyeing glory in the 3,000m women's event.
Chebet, 23, is taking to Oslo her World Cross Country title and a top form. Pundits predict fast times in the 3000m race.
She started the track and field season with remarkable victories. From winning the 5000m at the Kip Keino Classic, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting in Nairobi last month, Chebet made a huge statement, barely three months after defeating Ethiopian great Letesenbet Gidey at the 2023 World Cross Championships in Bathurst, Australia
Her major focus this year is a medal at the Budapest World Championships in August.
"I will be happy if I place on the podium this year in Budapest. Just like athletes seeking to fly the country's flag, the main target is to win a gold medal," Chebet said in an interview late last month.
Attention will also be on 1500m, where Timothy Cheruiyot will be battling his main rival, world and Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen again.
At the 2020 Olympics, Ingebrigtsen broke the Olympic record with his staggering 3:28.32 run, rounding Cheruiyot on the final lap in a thrilling race.
The Norwegian could not spare Cheruiyot at the World Championships in Eugene last year.
World-class track stars have also been assembled for the 5,000m show, with shockwaves also expected.
Kenyans Ishmael Kipkurui and Cornelius Kipkorir will be challenging Half Marathon world record holder Jacob Kiplimo from Uganda in 5,000m and USA's Paul Chelimo, an Olympic silver medallist.
"When it comes to 5,000m during this year's Oslo Bislett Games, you need good legs and a good engine to keep up. But if you have it, you can be lifted forward by one of the world's electrifying athletics fans. Good legs are needed here because the field is impressive," Wanda Diamond League said in a report two days ago.