Kenyan charges to face big names at Tokyo World Championships

By now, the Kenyan charges to the World Athletics Championships kicking off on Saturday in Tokyo have known their fiercest rivals.

Just six days to the global showpiece, a sneak peek into the final entry list released by World Athletics on Friday evening signals tough battles at the biennial event, which is returning to Japan for the third time after the 1991 edition in Tokyo and the 2007 Osaka show.

The 200 countries participating in the 2025 Tokyo World Championships have fielded their world beaters.

Kenya, like other countries, selected its best in July, but with some surprising late entries such as 2022 world 10,000m silver medallist Stanley Waithaka Mburu making it to the squad.

But Kenya, which was top of the world in 2015 and has dominated the top five positions in the history of World Athletics, from the inaugural edition in 1983 in Helsinki, Finland has to prove its mettle in the upcoming contest.

The country is ranked second in the cumulative medal tally in the history of the World Championships, having totaled 171 medals behind the US which has amassed 443 in the last 42 years.

The entry list published by the global governing body is full of sensations that have dominated podiums this season and will be in Tokyo to chase prestigious world titles.

“Of the 41 athletes who won individual gold medals at the 2023 edition in Budapest, 38 are entered to compete in Tokyo,” World Athletics said on Friday when it published the final entry list.

The governing body added: “World record-holders Faith Kipgeyon (1500m), Karsten Warholm (400m hurdles), Yaroslava Mahuchikh (high jump), Mondo Duplantis (pole vault), Yulimar Rojas (triple jump) and Ryan Crouser (shot put) and are among the defending champions heading to Tokyo, seeking to add to their global medal tally.”

In the men’s 1500m for instance, the Kenyan squad of rising star Phanuel Koech, experienced man in the distance, 2019 world champion Timothy Cheruiyot and World Under-20 gold medallist Reynold Cheruiyot will have a date with Norwegian sensation Jokob Ingebrigtsen and other arsenals.

Koech (3:27.72) is the fastest of the country’s 1500m squad to Tokyo and apart from Ingebrigtsen, the brigade will have to battle with big shots among them Frenchman Azeddine Habz (3:27.49) and Dutch star Niels Laros (3:29.20) as well as Josh Kerr of Great Britain (3:29.37).

Habz had competed with Koech when the Kenyan youngster set the 3:27.72 under-20 record at the Paris Diamond League and the French star sent the home crowd into a frenzy with his spectacular win.

World silver medallist Emmanuel Wanyonyi who has been unstoppable lately goes to Tokyo as the fastest man this season.

The Olympic champion (1:41.44 this season) will be anchoring the Kenyan two-lap stars in a contest that has the defending champion Marco Arop of Canada (1:42.22), USA’s Josh Hoey (1:42.01), the winner of the Lausanne Diamond League.

Two-time world medallist Jacob Krop, who is among the latest entrants in Team Kenya has been included perhaps to inject the World Championships podium oomph in the country’s 5000m cast.

Krop brought home a silver medal at the 2022 Eugene event and a bronze in 2023 Budapest and joined Cornelius Kemboi and Mathew Kipsang who automatically qualified at the national trials on July 22. Nicholas Kimeli, who had been named in July, is missing from the final entry list.

The men’s 5000m team will be battling for honours alongside big names such as USA’s Grant Fisher, an Olympic bronze medallist. The American is also the indoor world record holder in the distance.

Ethiopia is also sending to Tokyo some of its top guns in the men’s 5000m including Biniam Meharay and Kuma Girma.

Stanley Waithaka Mburu, the new entrant will be joining forces with Ishmael Kipkurui, former World Under-20 champion Benson Kiplangat and Edwin Kurgat as they take on the likes of Olympic silver medallist Berihu Aregawi from Ethiopia and his compatriot, 2020 Olympic champion Selemon Barega among other global bigwigs.

The men’s 3000m steeplechasers; Abraham Kibiwott  (a world bronze medallist), Under-20 champion Edmund Serem and Olympian Simon Kiprop will have defending champion Soufiane El Bakkali from Morocco to contend with while Faith Cherotich gets set to face Kenyan-born star Winfred Yavi in the women’s category.

The country’s track queens in the 1500m, 5000m and 10,000m will be taking on familiar rivals in their specialties.

For example, 1500m and 5000m defending champion Faith Kipyegon is likely to face athletes such as Diribe Welteji of Ethiopia, Jessica Hull (Australia) and Niki Hiltz (USA) among others (in the women’s 1500) and former record holder Gudaf Tsegay (in the 5000m race).

Mary Moraa, the defending champion in the women’s 800m will be hoping to redeem herself this season as she anchors the Kenyan ladies comprising Lilian Odira, Sarah Moraa and Vivian Kiprotich.

She will be battling it out with Great Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson, her countrywoman Georgia Hunter Bell and Ethiopia’s Tsige Duguma.