Paris Olympics bronze medallist Faith Cherotich upgraded her 2023 World Championships bronze to gold with a commanding victory in the women’s 3,000m steeplechase final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Wednesday.
The 21-year-old ran a tactically smart race, closely trailing Olympic and reigning world champion Winfred Yavi of Bahrain for much of the contest.
With just half a lap remaining, Cherotich surged ahead with a powerful finishing kick, clearing the final water jump with ease and sprinting to the finish.
She claimed gold in a championship record time of 8:51.59, nearly five seconds ahead of Yavi, who took silver in 8:56.46. Ethiopia’s Sembo Almayew secured bronze with a personal best of 8:58.86.
In the men’s 1,500m final, Reynold Cheruiyot captured his first senior-level track medal, claiming bronze after a dramatic finish.
The young Kenyan outkicked 2019 world champion Timothy Cheruiyot, who had led for most of the race but faded in the closing stretch. Reynold clocked 3:34.25 to secure third place.
Portugal’s Isaac Nader took the gold in 3:34.10, narrowly edging Britain’s Jake Wightman, who finished just two hundredths behind in 3:34.12 for silver.
