PANAPRESS
Panafrican News Agency
2012 Review: Kenyans ride high in 1,500m
Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - Three athletes, all from Kenya, clocked times under 3:30 a total of five times, in the 1,500m season, according to a 2012 review by the athletics world governing body, IAAF.
The season got off to a good start in May in Doha, with two athletes dipping under 3:30 early in the season almost side by side, something no athlete managed in the whole of 2011.
Kenyan Silas Kiplagat, 23, won in 3:29.63, following that with a win at the Kenyan Trials in July, making him one of the favourites at the Olympics.
Reigning Olympic champion Asbel Kiprop was second in the early Doha race in 3:29.78, but in July improved to a world-leading 3:28.88 win in Monaco, the last meeting before London.
Kiprop, who also won the 2011 World Championships, had never finished lower than fourth at a major championships, but at the Olympics he struggled with a minor injury and finished 12th in the final.
Fellow Kenyan and the third sub-3:30 runner of 2012, Nixon Chepsheba, was similarly disappointed with his 11th-place finish.
Always a fast finisher, Algerian Taoufik Makhloufi handled the sprint finish nicely, taking his first major medal, an Olympic gold, in 3:34.08.
Although he had run 3:30.80 for fifth place in Monaco, his performance in London came out of the blue.
The athletes placing in the next four places were also quite surprising with Leo Manzano winning the silver for the United States
in 3:34.79. US champion Manzano had done little before the Olympics, finishing 11th in the Mile at Crystal Palace in July, his only race in Europe prior to the Games.
Moroccan Abdelaati Iguider continued well, following his triumph at the World Indoor Championships in Istanbul.
The 25-year-old raced only twice outdoors before London, but still won the bronze in 3:35.13, says the global athletics body.
Another American, Matthew Centrowitz, was a surprise fourth in 3:35.17 while 21-year-old Norwegian Henrik Ingebrigtsen took a huge leap towards the world elite this season by first winning the European Championships in Helsinki and then crowning his 2012 campaign with a fifth place at the Olympics with a 3:35.43 national record.
Kenya is the best country with 24 athletes in the world top 100. United States is second with 18 and Morocco third with ten.
-0- PANA DJ/SEG 31Dec2012
The season got off to a good start in May in Doha, with two athletes dipping under 3:30 early in the season almost side by side, something no athlete managed in the whole of 2011.
Kenyan Silas Kiplagat, 23, won in 3:29.63, following that with a win at the Kenyan Trials in July, making him one of the favourites at the Olympics.
Reigning Olympic champion Asbel Kiprop was second in the early Doha race in 3:29.78, but in July improved to a world-leading 3:28.88 win in Monaco, the last meeting before London.
Kiprop, who also won the 2011 World Championships, had never finished lower than fourth at a major championships, but at the Olympics he struggled with a minor injury and finished 12th in the final.
Fellow Kenyan and the third sub-3:30 runner of 2012, Nixon Chepsheba, was similarly disappointed with his 11th-place finish.
Always a fast finisher, Algerian Taoufik Makhloufi handled the sprint finish nicely, taking his first major medal, an Olympic gold, in 3:34.08.
Although he had run 3:30.80 for fifth place in Monaco, his performance in London came out of the blue.
The athletes placing in the next four places were also quite surprising with Leo Manzano winning the silver for the United States
in 3:34.79. US champion Manzano had done little before the Olympics, finishing 11th in the Mile at Crystal Palace in July, his only race in Europe prior to the Games.
Moroccan Abdelaati Iguider continued well, following his triumph at the World Indoor Championships in Istanbul.
The 25-year-old raced only twice outdoors before London, but still won the bronze in 3:35.13, says the global athletics body.
Another American, Matthew Centrowitz, was a surprise fourth in 3:35.17 while 21-year-old Norwegian Henrik Ingebrigtsen took a huge leap towards the world elite this season by first winning the European Championships in Helsinki and then crowning his 2012 campaign with a fifth place at the Olympics with a 3:35.43 national record.
Kenya is the best country with 24 athletes in the world top 100. United States is second with 18 and Morocco third with ten.
-0- PANA DJ/SEG 31Dec2012
