Over 1, 500 junior athletes from 145 countries converge today for the 19th edition of World Under-20 Championships at Pascual Guerrero Olympic Stadium in Cali, Colombia.

 World Under-20 1,500m champion Purity Chepkirui and Brenda Chebet will headline the 1500m women category. The duo is expected to put up the strongest fight. Chebet is a 4:05.50 athlete this year while Chepkirui is the reigning World U20 champion who ran 4:08.08 this year. She also won silver at the African Championships last month.

Defending champion Chepkirui was one of Kenya’s eight gold medallists in the last edition held in Nairobi in 2021. She beat Ethiopia’s Diribe Welteji, the 2018 World U20 800m champion and sub-four-minute 1500m runner, to take gold over 1500m in 4:16.07. 

Daniel Kimaiyo will have eyes on gold in Cali. The 17-year-old clocked his PB of 3:36.09 to win the Kenyan trials for Cali in Nairobi earlier this month.

The Kenyan duo has to content with Ethiopians Ermias Girma and Adihana Kasaye. Girma possesses a PB of 1:44.36 in that event, speed which could be put to great use in the 1500m final. 

He has a 1500m best of 3:36.28 which he ran in May. Kasaye recently finished third in the African Championships in 3:38.27 and his PB of 3:36.38 was run World Indoors in February.

Great chances

 In the 3000m women steeplechase Kenya have high hopes of retaining the title they won last year by Teresiah Muthoni Gateri.

They look to have two great chances with Betty Chelangat and Nancy Cherop, who have run 8:51.33 and 8:52.86 this year.

Ethiopia has two fastest athletes in the field Medina Eisa and Tsiyon Abebe. Eisa, 17, clocked 8:41.42 to finish third at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Rabat last month, where Abebe, 15, lowered her best to 8:44.82 in sixth.

In the men’s category Edwin Kimosong Kisalsak, who has run 7:50.71 and Felix Kiptarus Korir have to put in a bold showing.

The Kenyans face stiff challenge from Ethiopia’s Diriba Girma who looks to hold a strong chance of retaining this title following Tadese Worku’s victory in Nairobi last year.

The 19-year-old is the quickest in the field this year via the 7:38.79 he ran indoors, and he will be joined by Melkeneh Azize, who ran 7:42.95 Indoors.

Uganda also has a strong contender Dan Kibet, who has run 7:45.73 for 3000m and 13:19.38 for 5000m which he run this year.

In the women 5000m Kenya is sure to have its typical strong showing and they’ll be represented by Maureen Cherotich and Jane Ghati Chacha.

Cherotich was sixth in the world U20 final last year where she clocked a PB of 15:41.26.

Earlier this month, Chacha was runner-up in 15:50.53.

Ethiopa is the defending champion where they led a 1-2 in last year’s championship courtesy of Mizan Alem and Melknat Wudu.

Wudu, the silver medallist at 5000m and bronze medallist at 3000m last year, tops the entries with the 15:08.65 PB she ran to finish fourth at the African Championships last month in Mauritius.

She also set a 3000m PB of 8:45.76 in Doha in May. She will be joined in Cali by teammate Medina Eisa, who lowered her PB to 15:14.01 last month.

Uganda’s Prisca Chesang won bronze in this race last year in Nairobi and the 18-year-old is sure to put in another strong showing after clocking 15:34.19 in Kampala, Uganda, last month. She also clocked a PB of 15:05.39 in Hengelo last year.

In the men’s 5000m Kenya has the defending champion Benson Kiplangat who defied all odds to win 5000m gold in a PB of 13:20.37 in Nairobi last year. 

In doing so, he held off a strong challenge from Ethiopia’s Tadese Worku, who had won 3000m gold earlier in the championships.

Others in the race are Ethiopia’s Addisu Yihune who finished fourth in the world U20 5000m final in Nairobi last year, but the 19-year-old looks likely to leave Cali with a medal quite possibly gold. He’s the quickest U20 in the world this year with the 13:02.10 he ran in Grosseto, Italy, in May, and he will be backed up by teammate Gebeyehu Belay.

Uganda’s hopes are led by Peter Maru, who was fifth in the world U20 1500m final in Nairobi last year and lowered his 5000m PB to 13:07.42 in Oslo last month. He will be joined by teammate Rogers Kibet, the promising 17-year-old who clocked a world U18 lead of 13:14.68 in May.

Kenya led in the medal standings with 16 medals; eight gold, one silver and seven bronze when the country hosted the delayed 2020 World Under-20 Athletics Championships last year.

Kenya also led in the table of standings in the 2018 edition of the junior championships held at Tampere Stadium in Tampere, Finland with 11 medals; six gold, four bronze and one silver.