World Under-20 1,500m champion Purity Chepkirui and Brenda Chebet qualified for the 1,500m final at the ongoing World Athletics Under-20 Championships in Cali, Colombia on Thursday evening.
Chepkirui a form two student at Tiloa Secondary School in Nakuru County, stayed behind the leading pack before crossing the line third in 4:19.94 in a race won by Ethiopia’s Mebriht Mekonen (4:18.07) while USA’s Addison Wiley timed 4:19.39 for second place.
Chepkirui will be seeking to defend her title although she acknowledged there is stiff competition.
“My target is to run a good race and getting into the final we have to run a brilliant race with my compatriot Chebet. Being the defending champion, the athletes will be watching every move that I make but I just have to do my best,” said Chepkirui.
In the third heat, Chebet took control of the race and led all the way to the tape crossing the line in 4:12.20 ahead of Turkey’s Dilek Kocak who clocked 4:14.90 while Japan’s Yuya Sawada was third in 4:15.29.
The final race is scheduled for Sunday morning.
