Record-breaking night for Kenya

Irene Jelagat, Faith Chepngetich Kipyegon, Mercy Cherono and Hellen Onsando Obiri of Kenya pose together after setting a new world record of 16:33.58 in the Women's 4x1500 metres relay. Kenya finished third overall in the inaugural IAAF World Relays Championships in the Bahamas, behind USA and fast-finishing Jamaica. PHOTO/AFP

What you need to know:

  • The only blot was that Kenya failed to progress in the 4x400m that was once the country’s speciality with a gold medal at the 1972 Munich Olympics coming after a silver at the 1968 Games in Mexico.
  • AK will feel vindicated, though, by their decision to offer wild card selection to Africa 3,000m record holder Hellen Obiri  and continental cross country champion Faith Chepng’etich Kipyegon as the pair played crucial roles in the record-breaking 4x1,500m race alongside World 5,000m silver medallist Mercy Cherono and 2011 All Africa Games winner Irene Jelagat.

Nassau, Bahamas

Kenyans showed no mercy for their opponents on a record-breaking night at the Thomas A. Robinson Stadium in Nassau, Bahamas on the opening day at the two-day, inaugural IAAF World Relays Championships on Saturday.

Kenya woke up to the news that the national track team bagged gold in the men’s 4x800 and followed through with another one in the women’s 4x1,500 metres.

The only blot was that Kenya failed to progress in the 4x400m that was once the country’s speciality with a gold medal at the 1972 Munich Olympics coming after a silver at the 1968 Games in Mexico.

The men’s 4x200m team made it to the final and finished a commendable fifth overall despite being earlier locked out of the event by Athletics Kenya. But AK would succumb to pressure to give the sprinters a chance after they displayed great potential in the National Relays Series.

AK will feel vindicated, though, by their decision to offer wild card selection to Africa 3,000m record holder Hellen Obiri  and continental cross country champion Faith Chepng’etich Kipyegon as the pair played crucial roles in the record-breaking 4x1,500m race alongside World 5,000m silver medallist Mercy Cherono and 2011 All Africa Games winner Irene Jelagat.

Kenya’s gold medallists in the men’s 4x800m were Ferguson Rotich, Sammy Kibet, Job Kinyor and Alfred Kipketer.

In the women’s 1,500m race, the crowd at the stadium had their eyes trained on the clock, looking to see if Kenya would shatter their world record that stood at 17 minutes, 5.72 seconds, set in Nairobi last month at the national trials for the event.

WORLD RECORD

Cherono threw down the gauntlet doing a great job in leg one with Chepng’etich stretching Kenya’s lead from 20 metres to 30 and eventually 60 when she handed the baton to Jelagat who was equally delightful, stretching the lead to 150 metres.

And when anchorwoman Obiri took over the baton, it was just a matter of keeping inside world record pace, which she did with ease, stopping the clock sub-17 at 16:33.58.

USA (16:55.33) also dipped into the former record for silver as Australia, who put some early pressure on Kenya, taking the bronze in 17:08.65.

“We had planned very well to attack the world record and knew we just needed to each run 4:10 to get a 16-something time,” said Obiri, who is fresh from breaking the Africa 3,000m record earlier this month at the Doha Diamond League meeting.

“I knew it was going to be a world record when I turned in for the final 100 metres,” added the Kenya Defence Forces servicewoman, Obiri.

“The atmosphere was great,” policewoman Jelagat chipped in. “Mercy and Faith ran very well and I just ran to stay in the lead.”

The race was ran at 7.51pm local time (2.51am on Sunday, Kenyan time). Cherono is coached by Italian Claudio Berrardeli and is also a member of Kenya Police Service athletics team.

, said the atmosphere was great during the race that was

“We had a lot of fun and the atmosphere was great with the music and the people cheering us,” said Cherono who, like Chepg’etich, is a product of Kericho’s steady production like of great women athletes that include former Boston and Frankfurt Marathon champion Caroline Kilel.

Twenty-year-old Chepng’etich, a Form Three student at the aptly-named Winners Secondary School in Keringet, Bomet County, and former World Youth and World Junior champion, said the race will inspire her for next year’s World Championships in Beijing.

“I’m planning to run the 1,500m in Beijing and this relay has most certainly fitted well in my plans,” Chepng’etich, one of the world’s most promising middle distance runners, whose personal best in the 1,500m is 3:56.98, said.

BONUS PRIZE

For the record-breaking run, the Kenyan girls will share $100,000 (Sh8.6 million) which is made up of $50,000 (Sh4.3 million) for the gold medal and a similar amount in world record bonus pay.

The amount is good enough to more than sort out Chepngetich’s school fees all the way through university.

The quartet said despite their brilliant run, the world record for the individual 1,500m  of 3:50.46 held by China’s Qu Yunxia since 1993, is still a bit off their radar at the moment.

“We can’t talk about the world record right now,” Obiri who raced to an African record 3:20.68 at the Doha Diamond League meeting said. “That time is still a bit far of. Even 3:35 is difficult, but we can try and run 3:55 first.”

The four golden girls say they will celebrate their victory once back home, as three of them - Obiri, Chepng’etich and Cherono - travel to the US tomorrow to compete in the weekend’s Eugene leg of the Diamond League before returning to Nairobi.