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Kenya’s Beatrice Chepkoech, along with Diribe Welteji and Freweyni Hailu, is set to compete in the ORLEN Copernicus Cup, a World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting, taking place in Torun, Poland, on February 6.

Chepkoech, the world record holder in the 3000m steeplechase and Kenya’s record holder in the 1500m short track will face tough competition from Ethiopia’s Welteji, who set a world record in the mile at the World Athletics Road Running Championships.

Beatrice Chepkoech

The race saw Welteji clocking 4:20.98 to secure victory over Hailu and Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon.

The Torun event will witness a rematch between Welteji and Hailu, this time in the 1500m. The competition will include Ethiopia’s world indoor 1500m bronze medallist Hirut Meshesha and Uganda’s 2019 world 800m champion Halimah Nakaayi.

Welteji, the world road mile champion, is also the world 1500m silver medallist, having finished second to Kipyegon in Budapest in August. Meanwhile, Hailu holds the world indoor 800m silver medal.

Meshesha boasts the fastest short track personal best among the competitors, having clocked 4:02.01 in Lievin last year. Chepkoech set her national record of 4:02.09 in 2020.

New York

In another event in New York, on 11 February at the Millrose Games, Grant Fisher, the multiple US record-holder, will compete against the world champion Josh Kerr in the two-mile race, also a World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold event. The race aims to set a target with the world indoor two-mile best of 8:03.40.

Competitors in the men’s pole vault at the Millrose Games will include Olympic and world medallist Chris Nilsen and North American record-holder KC Lightfoot. They will face fellow US athletes Zach McWhorter, Matt Ludwig, and Zach Bradford in the first men’s pole vault competition at the Millrose Games since 2014.