Kenya’s Abel Kipsang breaks record to reach 1,500m final
By Amos Abuga, August 6, 2021
Kenya’s Abel Kipsang shattered a 21-year-old Olympic record as he reached the 1,500m final at the Tokyo Olympics yesterday.
The debutant at the Summer Games lowered the time to 3:31.65 to book a place in Saturday’s final.
He will be joined in the final by compatriot Timothy Cheruiyot, the world champion who qualified from semi-final one.
Cheruiyot clocked 3:33.95 to finish third in a heat won by Great Britain’s Jake Wightman in a time of 3:33.48
However, it was Kipsang who grabbed the headlines after beating legend Noah Ngeny’s time of 3:32.07 set during the 2000 Games in Sydney, Australia.
Kipsang won the second semi-final ahead of Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen (3:32.13) and Britain’s Josh Kerr (3:32.13) who settled for second and third respectively.
Kipsang and Cheruiyot will be hoping to reclaim the Olympic title last won by Asbel Kiprop in 2008.
The other Kenyan, Charles Simotwo, failed to advance from Heat One where he placed sixth in a time of 3:34.61.