Brimin Kipruto, Hellen Obiri set for Lausanne Diamond League Meet

Kenya's Brimin Kipruto (left) and Brazil's Altobeli Silva compete in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Men's 3000m Steeplechase Final at the Olympic Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on August 17, 2016. PHOTO | JEWEL SAMAD |

What you need to know:

  • The Lausanne meeting, the fourth last of the 14 Diamond League legs, has attracted a number of elite athletes who are out to atone for their dismal performances at the just concluded Rio Olympics.
  • Kipruto, the 2008 Olympics steeplechase champion, was sixth in Rio but goes back to the series.

Former Olympic 3,000m steeplechase champion Brimin Kipruto and Rio Olympics 5,000m silver medallist Hellen Obiri are among top Kenyan athletes lined up for the IAAF Diamond League in Lausanne on Thursday.

The Lausanne meeting, the fourth last of the 14 Diamond League legs, has attracted a number of elite athletes who are out to atone for their dismal performances at the just concluded Rio Olympics.

Kipruto, the 2008 Olympics steeplechase champion, was sixth in Rio but goes back to the series.

The men’s steeplechase race promises to be a thrilling contest as Kipruto faces double Diamond League trophy winner Jairus Birech. Kipruto has run 8:18:79 minutes this season while Birech boasts of 8:03:90 minutes.

Birech, the 2014 Commonwealth silver medallist, will be particularly interested with victory after missing out on an Olympic ticket. On the other hand, Brimin is under pressure to do better after missing an Olympic medal in Rio.

Already, Birech has said he will be attempting the world record. Birech will be seeking to shave off the five seconds standing between his best and Saif Saaeed Shaheen’s 7:53:63 minutes world mark set in 2004.

“I could not make it to the Olympics because I was not feeling well at the trials,” Birech said.

Going for the record seems to be Birech’s only consolation as he stands no chance of winning the Diamond League trophy this year, with Olympic champion Conseslus Kipruto leading with 50 points from five victories.

“I would like to try the record but if it fails, I get a new personal best and end the season well,” added Birech, who has not won any Diamond League race this season.

The 24-year-old Birech has a personal best of 7:58:41, a mark that puts him tenth in the all-time fastest list.

Kenyans Paul Kipsiele Koech, Barnabas Kipyego and Abel Mutai are also in the start-list in Lausanne alongside Kenyan-born Bahraini John Koech.

STRONG FIELD

Obiri, who won silver medal behind Vivian Cheruiyot in an explosive 5,000m final at Rio Games last week, will compete in the women’s 3,000m alongside 2013 World 5000m silver medallist Mercy Cherono, World Cross Country champion Agnes Jebet Tirop, Janet Kisa, Mary Kuria, Lydia Wafula and Margaret Chelimo.

Cherono missed an Olympic medal by a whisker in Rio after finishing fourth in the women’s 5,000m that was won by Cheruiyot, who set an Olympic record of 14:26:17 minutes.

But Tirop, 21, returns to the track after staying out of the limelight for over a year. She has not been actively competing since winning the cross country title in Guiyang in March 2015.

Ethiopia’s 1,500m world record-holder and double World Indoor 3,000m champion Genzebe Dibaba is also in the field. She was relegated to second place by Faith Chepng’etich in the 1,500m final in Rio last week.

Gelete Burka, Dera Dida, Senbere Tefere and Haftamnesh Tesfaye are other Ethiopians in the women’s 3000m start list.