Manangoi out to defend Dusseldorf Indoor title

World 1,500m silver medallist Elijah Manangoi opens his season proper with his 1,500m title defence at the Dusseldorf Indoor Meeting on Wednesday in Dusseldorf, Germany.

It will be Manangoi’s first competitive race since the Rio Olympic Games where he withdrew from the semi-finals after he sustained a hamstring injury.

Manangoi warmed up for the Indoor Meet when he competed for Central in relays during the National Police Service Cross Country Championships two weeks ago at Ngong Racecourse. His team finished third.

Manangoi returns to Düsseldorf Arena Sportpark where he ran a personal best of 3 minutes and 39.77 to win on February 3, last year - his first indoor race. He went on to run another personal best of 2:17.09 in 1,000m at Stockholm (Globe Arena) two weeks later.

“Manangoi’s training has come up well since coming through rehabilitation in November last year,” said his coach Bernard Ouma. “We had some good strength sessions in December and another three weeks of track session. His muscles have picked up well.”

From Dusseldorf, Manangoi will head for the Karlsruhe Indoor Meeting on Saturday in Germany before closing his indoor season with the Torun Meeting on February 10 in Poland.

Manangoi will face 2011 World 1,500m silver medallist Silas Kiplagat, who has an indoor personal best of 3:35.26 from 2012 Liévin.

Kiplagat, the 2014 Diamond League 1,500m trophy winner, is hoping for a comeback after low key 2015 and 2016 season. He finished fifth at the 2015 World Championships and failed to make the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

Interestingly, with no steeplechase to contest indoors, Olympic bronze medallist Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad will take the battle to Manangoi, Kiplagat and Briton Jake Wightman.

Wightman is the only athlete in the field with tour points to his name so far after his third place showing in the Boston mile, clocking 3:57.24 on Saturday.

No Kenyan is in the men’s 800m race that promises to be equally thrilling with Poland’s Adam Kszczot and Marcin Lewandowski in the start list. The two have raced each other 53 times over 800m since 2008, with Kszczot holding an 11-race edge.

Last year’s tour winner Kszczot has five victories in Dusseldorf to his name already, but with a field that also includes 2016 world indoor bronze medallist Erik Sowinski and 2015 world bronze medallist Amel Tuka, he has his work cut out in his bid to up the tally to six.

OBIRI WON

Kenya’s 2012 World Indoor 3,000m champion Hellen Obiri was among the winners in the opening leg of the World Indoor Tour in Boston on Saturday.

Obiri ran 8:39.08 to beat Sifan Hassan and Shannon Rowbury in the women’s 3000m, despite doing much of the pace work.

Obiri and Hassan had gapped Rowbury with six laps remaining, but then Obiri’s varying pace (which wavered between 33 and 36 seconds per lap mid-race) allowed Rowbury to re-establish contact.

Finally at the bell, Obiri managed to establish a gap on Hassan, and Hassan on Rowbury, settling the eventual finishing order. Hassan clocked 8:40.99 and Rowbury 8:41.94.