Africa 5000m champion Beatrice Chebet is keen to add a senior gold medal to her glittering trophy cabinet having won the Under-20 titles in both the track and cross country competition.

Chebet who won the continental title during the Africa Senior Athletics Championships in Reduit, Mauritius last month says she has matured and feels she can be a force over the 12 and-a-half lap race, more so after two-time world champion, Hellen Obiri decided quite the tartan for road racing.

“This is anyone’s championship; we all stand an equal chance,” Chebet told People Sport.

“Obiri who has dominated the race in recent times will not be competing, so everyone will be thinking this can be my title,” said Chebet.

Even with the presence of the newly crowned 10,000m gold medallist Letesenbet Gidey and Olympic 5000m champion Sifan Hassan in the mix, the youngster is not worried.

“The race will be more tactical in my opinion, it requires a lot of speed and endurance for one to win, so I think there are no favourites as yet,” she added.

Her sentiments come after the Kenyan trio of Margaret Chelimo, Gloria Kite and Chebet all qualified for the final of the women’s 5,000m at the World Athletics Championships early Thursday morning.

While Chelimo, bronze medallist in the women’s 10,000m and Chebet qualified automatically from Heat One, Kite qualified as one of the non-automatic qualifiers after her time in Heat Two where she finished sixth was enough to earn her a ticket to Saturday’s final.

Chelimo and Chebet finished third and fourth in the opening Heat.

Both Kenyans ran the season’s best times with Chebet timing 14:53.34 and Chelimo, who won silver at the 2019 Doha Worlds clocking 14:53.45.

Ethiopian Gudaf Tsefay, who won silver in the 1500m, won the heat in 14:52.64 ahead of compatriot Dawit Seyaum 14:53.06.

Gloria Kite was sixth in the second heat to advance as a non-automatic qualifier after timing a season’s best of 14:53.62.

Gidey won the heat in 14:52.27 ahead of Caroline Chepkoech Kipkirui and silver medalist from Doha in 2019  Hassan 14:52.89.