Kenya’s Timothy Cheruiyot and Brian Komen have reached the final of the men’s 1500m final. Both athletes finished in the top six in the semi-final, while Reynold Cheruiyot was eliminated after a 10th-place finish. Timothy Cheruiyot and Brian Komen will battle for the gold medal in the final against favourite Jakob Ingebrigtsen. Komen and Reynold were in the first heat alongside favourited for gold Josh Kerr and Jakob Ingebrigtsen. Komen finished fourth in 3:32.57, while Cheruiyot was 10th in 3:35.32. Olympic champion, Ingebrigtsen won the first semi-final in 3:32.38, while Kerr was second, per Olympics.com. Timothy Cheruiyot was uncomfortable in the last 200m of the second semi-final but squeezed in to finish fifth. The USA Yared Nuguse won the second semi-final. The final is set for Tuesday, August 6. Kenya have won four Olympic gold medals in the distance but the last one came in 2008. Kerr and Ingebrigtsen are considered favourites for the gold medal, per World Athletics. Timothy Cheruiyot won silver at the Tokyo Olym
pics but has struggled to recapture that form. Mary Moraa reaches 800m final TUKO.co.ke earlier reported that Mary Moraa qualified for the women’s 800m final after winning the heat in the semi-final. Other Kenyans, Lilian Odira and Vivian Chebet, were eliminated from the Olympic games after they finished out of the top two. Moraa is the reigning world champion in the distance but will face tough competition from Great Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson.
by Edwin Kiplagat