Africa-Press – Lesotho. Another World U20 gold medallist to keep an eye on at the Cote d’Or stadium is 17-year-old Emmanuel Wanyonyi in the two-lap race. The Kenyan is now the second-fastest man this season over the 800m after his 1:45.47 victory at the Diamond League in Rabat that followed up another daring win in Ostrava.
The focus on the women’s 5000m will not only be on the traditional long-distance rivalry between Kenyans and Ethiopians but the return of South Africa’s three-time world gold medallist Semenya.
After stepping up the distance from her preferred 800m due to the World Athletics rule that prevents female athletes with Differences in Sexual Development (DSD) from competing in events from 400m to one mile (1600m), unless they reduce their high testosterone levels.
The five-time African champion has a modest target of bettering her personal best of 15:31.50 and attaining the qualifying mark for the 2022 World Athletics Championships in the 5k after failing to meet the standards for the Tokyo Olympics.
The entry mark for the women’s 5000m for the championships in Eugene is 15:10.00.
The 22nd edition of the African championships will be Semenya’s first major championship race since the 2018 Commonwealth Games when she topped the 800m and the 1500m.
Olympic javelin stars Yego and Ihab Abdelrahman of Egypt are set to excite the in-field.
The Kenyan seeking a return to form that saw him win a surprise gold at the 2015 world championships that he followed up with silver at Rio 2016, has his eyes on bagging his fourth African title.
Nigerian Brume, the reigning African long jump champion, and Burkina Faso’s triple jumper Zango are tipped to shine in the events that earned them historic bronze medals at the 2019 world championships in Doha.
The presence of double world medallists in the field, Zango seeking to defend his triple jump title, and Brume seeking an unprecedented fourth consecutive women’s long jump gold after opening her season with silver at the world indoor championships in Belgrade, is also certain to stir the crowds in Mauritius.
The return of Kenya’s world and Olympic champion Kipruto after a long injury layoff is sure to ignite the steeplechase race. “It has been very difficult. As an athlete, to try and compete again after injury is so hard.
The mentality to race after a long time is not easy to achieve,” he said in an interview with Kenya’s Capital Sports on his struggle back to form.
Ghana’s record holder Joseph Amoah and the Gambia’s star sprinter Gina Bass, the African Games gold medallist, are expected to provide some key moments in the 200m.
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