Sports

Faith Kipyegon considering moving to different discipline after 1,500m dominance

Published

1 day ago

September 18, 2024

Kenya’s multiple world and Olympics champion, Faith Kipyegon, says she is considering as switch to other distances next year after dominating the 1,500m for many years with no serious challengers.

The Kenyan Golden Girl who already has three Olympics titles, a world record, and as many world titles, which makes her the greatest female athlete in history over the distance, added a fifth Diamond League title to her trophy cabinet last weekend, and says a switch to other races to test herself is not off the table in 2025.

“I hope to stay strong and healthy towards next year and see what I am capable of doing. I don’t know if I will still do 1,500m or move to 5,000m but I hope for the best next year,” Kipyegon told Athletics Weekly after grabbing the Diamond League title.

Kipyegon stated that she has been motivated by other athletes who have contested different disciplines, such as Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen who made his half marathon debut last weekend, and Dutchwoman Sifan Hassan, who has won titles in marathon, half marathon, 1,500m and 10,000m.

“I have seen Jakob is running in Copenhagen, I hope he gives me the motivation and I can also do half marathon.

“Also, Sifan Hassan doing half, marathon and coming to 1,500m, 5,000m, so I think it is only to twist how you think and say I am going to do this and hopefully we will do it,” she added.

Kipyegon has already proven that she has what it takes to compete in the 5,000m after winning a world title in Budapest last year, this coming after she had broken a world record, while she also claimed Olympics silver in Paris over the distance.

She had also previously expressed her interest in running a marathon in future and 2025 could be the year she starts the transition if she makes the decision.

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Sports

FIFA Ranking: Nigeria maintains 39th position, still ahead of Ghana, South Africa, Cameroon, Algeria

Published

5 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Isaac Dachen

The Super Eagles of Nigeria has maintained its 39th position in the latest FIFA Coca-Cola Men’s Rankings released by the world football governing body for the month of September.

Though the Nigerian men’s national team’s ranking did not change from last month, they, however, remained above fierce rivals Ghana, South Africa, Cameroon and Algeria in the ranking released on Thursday.

The three-time African champions earned four points from their opening 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers earlier in the month, with a 3-0 victory over Benin at home and a goalless draw against Rwanda.

The new FIFA ranking has also seen some African teams move up some places in their ranking, with Algeria, Congo, and Burkina Faso taking some steps up the table.

Cameroon dropped two places to 53 on the list while South Africa dropped to 59 and Ghana going down to an abysmal 70 having dropped two and six places, respectively.

Algeria (41) moved five places further on the list and are two places behind Nigeria, while Congo (58) and Burkina Faso (63) have moved two and four places, respectively.

The Super Eagles will be hoping that the recent performance will be taken into consideration in the next Fifa ranking list.

Nigeria dropped from 38th position to 39th place on the FIFA ranking a few months ago following several poor performances having failed to win their last four qualifying games under former head coaches Jose Peseiro and Findi Geroge.

However, they have maintained the 39th place in the world ranking following the newly released list by FIFA.

Sports

Kenya’s female athletes maintain Diamond League dominance

Published

3 days ago

September 16, 2024

Isaac Dachen

Kenya’s female athletes have continued to prove their dominance at the Diamond League final in Brussels, Belgium, as they have scooped most of the titles to maintain their good record at major championships.

Out of the nine track events this far competed for in Brussels, Kenyan women athletes have picked four of them with some stunning performances recorded along the way.

Three of the four titles were won on the second day of the competition after world champion Mary Moraa had regained her 800m crown in superb fashion on Friday.

The Commonwealth champion ran a very tactical race to win the 800m Diamond Trophy in a season’s best 1:56.56, having saved the best for last, as she stormed to victory in the final 200m.

Moraa last won the trophy in 2022 before she was defeated by American Athing Mu last year but she made amends with her victory ahead of Britain’s Georgia Bell who clocked 1:57.50 and Jamaica’s Natoya Goule-Toppin, who completed the podium in 1:58.94.

On Saturday, 20-year-old Faith Cherotich stunned Olympics and world champion Winfred Yavi to claim the 3,000m steeplechase title.

With Yavi and former Olympics champion Peruth Chemutai of Uganda in the race, few gave Cherotich a chance at victory but she proved everyone wrong.

The world and Olympics bronze medallist timed her jumps at the water barriers to perfection while keeping Yavi in check, and at the final hurdle, she had already managed a good gap which she held on to win her first-ever Diamond League title.

Faith Kipyegon was the next to prove her mettle in the 1,500m and the three-time Olympics champion smashed the meeting record to clock 3:54.75 for her fifth Diamond League title.

Double Olympics champion Beatrice Chebet put the icing on the cake for the Kenyan women when she commanded the 5,000m race from start to finish.

Chebet left her rivals by a big gap as she lowered Almas Ayana’s meeting record by setting a new mark of 14:09.82 for her second Diamond League title.

Chebet had also won her first trophy in 2022 before missing out last year, but made amends in emphatic style. To show how dominant she was, second-placed Medina Eisa of Ethiopia came home in 14:21.89 to add to her world record in 10,000m, World Cross-Country title, two Olympics gold medals and now the Diamond League title in 2024.