Benjamin Kigen and Abraham Kibiwott have sailed through to the finals of the 3000m steeplechase but Leonard Bett could not qualify after finishing 5th in his heat.
The dynamic duo of Kigen and Kibiwott finished among the three automatic qualifiers in their heat as Athletics action took center stage at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic games.
Kigen finished third in heat one in a time of 8:10:80, a race that was won by Ethiopia’s Lamecha Girma. Japan’s Ryuji Miura finished second to make it to the finals.
In the second heat, Kibiwott made light work of himself as he beat the field to win in 8:12:25 ahead of Getnet Wale of Ethiopia and Italy’s Ahmed Abdelwahed who finished second and third respectively.
Kenya’s third representative Bett was however not lucky to join his compatriots after a poor decision in the final water jump saw him drop further to finish fifth in his heat and ultimately locked out of the final.
The 3000m steeplechase final will take place on Monday August 2, at 15:15hrs EAT. Kenya faces a real test to claim gold this time round from the likes of Lamecha Girma of Ethiopia and Soufiane el Bakkali of Morocco.
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