It took 20 years for Noah Ng’eny to dismember Sebastian Coe’s Olympic 1,500 metres record of three minutes, 32.53 seconds set at the 1980 Moscow Games.
And it has taken 21 years for Abel Kipsang to obliterate Ng’eny’s mark (3:32.07) that stood since the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
On a competitive night of semi-final action at the Tokyo National Stadium, Kipsang Thursday night set a new Olympic record in the 1,500m, clocking 3:31.65.
And this was only in the semi-final!
Kipsang will join world champion Timothy Cheruiyot in Saturday’s final which the latter predicts will be “very fast.”
The third Kenyan, Charles Simotwo, failed to qualify, running 3:34.61 in the first semi-final to finish sixth and miss out on both the five automatic slots from each semi-final, and two slots reserved for the fastest losers.
Ng’eny, currently based in Lanet, Thursday night congratulated young Kipsang for taking away his two decades old Olympic mark.
“I’m very happy to see those young guys coming up,” Ng’eny said.
“There’s nothing as good as when a young generation comes through to take over from the older generation. I’m so happy.”
Speaking to Nation Sport on telephone, Ng’eny said he followed the races keenly, and advised both Cheruiyot and Kipsang to “run their own race” in Saturday’s final.
“If you look at Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen, he’s very fast at the end. If I was to advise them, I would tell them to run their own race and not to follow anybody or go with anybody’s command.
“Because those guys are good and with 800 to go with everyone in the pack, it can be anyone’s race.”
Ng’eny also pointed out at Spain’s Adel Mechaal (personal best 3:32.19 Thursday) as a potential threat.
“That guy is good. If you see anyone running a PB (personal best) at this stage, watch out for that person, because you don’t know their limit – he can push, or run slow.
“Cheruiyot should run his race and run flat out because he has nothing to lose,” the former Olympic champion added.
And indeed, Kipsang, 24, third at last year’s Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi (3:35:43), said he will run his own race on Saturday.
“It wasn’t my plan to run an Olympic record today,” he said.
“It just came. I was running my own race and I will run my own race in the final as well.”
Cheruiyot said he just wanted to focus on getting into Saturday’s final.
“The race was good. I was only running fast enough to qualify for the final. There was a lot of pressure, so I tried to push a little bit. I tried to push on the last 400 metres as I only wanted to get to the top four, to qualify for the final,” he said.
Cheruiyot predicted a very fast, sub 2:30 final on Saturday.
“The final will be fast. We hope to run under 3.30, and at the end of the day, I will be the winner. I need that (gold) medal. It’s the only one I don’t have,” he confidently concluded when asked who between him, Kipsang and Ingebrigtsen would take home the gold. BY DAILY NATION