Ezekiel Kemboi Wins Men's Steeple

All 3 Americans advance in women's 1500m

Day 4/August 18: Men's Steeple Final, Women's 1500m Heats

Photo by Cheryl Treworgy/PrettySporty.com

The usual question at the beginning of the men's steeplechase final is, Will the Kenyans take all three medals, or only two? With four of them in the field (defending world and Olympic champion Brimin Kipruto, plus 2007 world runner-up Ezekiel Kemboi (the year's list leader at 7:58.85), Beijing and Osaka third-placer Richard Mateelong, and four-time World Athletics Final champion Paul Koech) it was hard to pick a challenger.

And indeed, though South African Ruben Ramolefi took his habitual position in the front for the first kilometer, the Kenyans were in charge all the way. Ramolefi was shadowed by Kemboi and Koech, who pushed up and forced him to defend his lead if the pace flagged. Bouabdellah Tahri of France marked the Kenyans as well. After Ramolefi passed the first kilometer in 2:41.90, Kemboi and Koech went to the lead again, and with Mateelong and Kipruto behind Ramolefi and Tahri it was 1-2-5-6 Kenyans.

Ramolefi had done his work and began fading to the back as Koech forced the pace, with Tahri hanging on to third. The second kilometer was a second faster than the first, 5:22.79 (a 2:40.89 kilometer) and Koech kept pushing, pulling Kemboi, Tahri and Mateelong away from the rest of the field (including Kipruto).

At the bell, it was Kemboi who seemed to want it the most, as he went to the front and tried to break away. Koech and Mateelong sprinted to keep up, and as the pack reached the homestretch it looked like they might yet hang on to the sweep. Tahri wanted to break up the sweep as badly as the Kenyans wanted to keep it, though, and he charged for the line with nothing short of desperation.

In the end, Kemboi held his lead in a new championship record of 8:00.43. Mateelong set a new PR of 8:00.89 for silver. And Tahri broke up the sweep, setting a new European record of 8:01.18 in third. Koech was left outside in 8:01.26, just .06 behind Tahri. Kipruto was 7th in 8:12.61.

The medalists managed to run each of the three kilometers faster than the last; the split for the third was 2:37.64.

Moroccan Jamel Chatbi didn't start the race because of being busted for a doping offense.


Women's 1500m Heats

The first heat of the women's 1500m was always going to be about defending world champion Maryam Yusuf Jamal of Bahrain, but it turned out to also be about road rash. Or, more accurately, track rash. In the rush for the first corner, American Shannon Rowbury got tangled, apparently with Britain's Charlene Thomas. Thomas lost a shoe; Rowbury went down.

Fortunately for Rowbury, the early pace was relatively slow (1:08.69 at 400m for Russia's Oksana Zbrozhek) and she was easily able to rejoin the pack. Zbrozhek still held the lead at 800m, passed in an even slower 2:17.52; the pack reached the bell in 3:06.62 with all the players still in contention. Nuria Fernandez of Spain started the shouting, leading at the 1200m mark in 3:22.37, and when Jamal moved up on her shoulder that was the first two places decided: Jamal 4:08.76 (the slowest heat winner, as it happened), Fernandez 4:08.79.

Rowbury appeared to have no speed left, however, and was left at the back of the pack watching the others run away. With the first six advancing automatically from each of three heats, and another six advancing on time, Rowbury finished 11th in 4:10.30, just behind Thomas. After an appeal, Rowbury was advanced to Friday's semis. She was judged to have been impeded, but it wasn't the Thomas' fault, so the Brit wasn't disqualified. The British federation, however, didn't attempt to advance Thomas on appeal.

Rowbury's tangle turned out to be minor compared with the second heat. Ethiopian world indoor champion Gelete Burka was in this heat, and when Russia's Natalya Evdokimova took the pace (400m in 1:07.42) Burka let it ride only about 500m before taking control. With American Anna Willard hanging in the middle of the pack with NCAA champion Susan Kuijken of the Netherlands, Burka led through 800m in 2:16.81.

With about 600m remaining, then, the crash came in the pack. Behind Willard and Kuijken, Kenya's Irene Jelagat and France's Hind Dehiba tangled, and both went down hard, with Dehiba scrambling to her feet immediately but Jelagat left sprawled on her back on the track. Dehiba sprinted to catch the pack as Burka took the bell (1200m in 3:21.57), pushing hard to separate the group. Lisa Dobriskey, 4th in Beijing, moved to stay in the automatic qualifiers, and Willard pushed hard on the homestretch to stay with them herself.

Burka took the heat win in 4:07.75, the fastest time of the round; Dobriskey was third, Willard fifth. Kuijken trailed in 12th, Jelagat a distant 13th in 4:27.36. Upon appeal, Dehiba was advanced to the semis, but Jelagat wasn't The Jelagat/Dehiba fall, on review, was judged to have been Jelagat falling on her own, impeding Dehiba; obviously Dehiba's presence made the fall worse for Jelagat but it didn't create the situation. The Kenyans were there for the review and agreed, so she won't advance.

The third heat knew the time standard to advance, but they didn't run that way. Christin Wurth-Thomas joined Anna Alminova at the front, moving ahead for the 400m split (1:10.05, the slowest opening lap) and leading every split from then on. Wurth-Thomas then split every lap slightly faster, passing 800m in 2:18.40 and 1200m in 3:21.29. She surged hard at the bell (3:05.86 at 1100m) and strung the pack out, but Alminova stayed close, and on the homestretch Wurth-Thomas relaxed. Alminova took the heat win in 4:08.13, with Wurth-Thomas fourth in 4:08.23. All six automatic qualifiers finished within half a second of each other.

This first round didn't significantly change the face of the race, but we did get a first look at the competitors. Jamal looks healthy and ready to defend her 2007 world title after her Beijing disappointment, and Burka also looks ready to make a race that suits her style. Willard and Wurth-Thomas both ran within themselves, Willard advancing with minimum effort and Wurth-Thomas asserting herself as a race-maker. The wild card may be the relatively young Alminova, who recorded a 3:58.38 late last month in Cheboksary after a 1:57.86 800m PR just three days earlier.


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