David Rudisha, Asbel Kiprop set to light up Ostrava Challenge

What you need to know:

  • Rudisha and Kiprop are aiming to polish their speed as they hit the track in 600m and 1,000m respectively.
  • It will be Rudisha’s first race since competing in Australia in March.

Olympic and World 800m record holder David Rudisha and World 1,500m champion Asbel Kiprop are among elite Kenyan athletes set to illuminate the Ostrava IAAF Challenge on Tuesday evening in the Czech Republic.

Commonwealth Games and Africa javelin champion Julius Yego and the 2013 World Cross Country champion Japheth Korir are up against strong opponents. Korir will field in the 5,000m.

Ideally, Rudisha and Kiprop are aiming to polish their speed as they hit the track in 600m and 1,000m respectively.

It will be Rudisha’s second attempt at the distance as he eyes to improve his personal best of 1:13.71 set in Birmingham in August, last year.

Rudisha’s time in Birmingham is fourth on the all-time list and the 2011 World 800m champion could also be targeting to smash both the World record time of 1:12.81, set by the USA’s Johnny Gray in 1986, and Joseph Mutua’s Kenyan record of 1:13.49.

It will be Rudisha’s first race since winning at the Sydney Track Classic in 1:45.01 on March 14 and Melbourne Classic in 1:44.94 on March 21 in Australia. He holds the World 800m record time of 1:40.91 set at the 2012 London Olympic Games.

On the other hand, Kiprop is fresh from breaking Nixon Chepseba’s Kenyan soil record in 1,500m with a new time of 3:36.06 at the newly renovated Kipchoge Keino Stadium.

COULDN'T RESIST

Kiprop, who had promised to stay away from his 1,500m specialty up until the national trials for the World Championships, couldn’t resist the allure of the new tartan track at the Kipchoge Keino Stadium on Friday.

The 2008 Olympic champion had just competed in 800m at the 2015 Diamond League opening event in Doha on May 15 where he finished sixth.

Even though Kiprop will contest the 1,000m for the first time, he can easily erase the meeting record of 2:15.08, set by Ilham Tanui Ozbilen in 2014, considering his from at high altitude on Friday. He faces French 800m record-holder Pierre-Ambroise Bosse and European indoor 1500m champion Jakub Holusa.

Yego, who is also the All Africa Games champion, opened his season in Doha with season’s best of 81.98 to finish sixth.

Yego comes up against the like of training mate Tero Pitkämäki from Finland won in Doha in 88.62 and African record-holder Ihab Abdelrahman.

Also in action is World champion Vitezslav Vesely, 2014 Diamond Race winner Thomas Rohler and Olympic champion Keshorn Walcott.