BIRMINGHAM, March 4, 2018 - There was guts but no glory for Winny Chebet as she finished fifth in the women's World Indoor 1500m final on Saturday with her fellow compatriot Beatrice Chepkoech , well known for missing the water jump in the 2017 Worlds 3000m steeplcahase ,came in seventh in a time of 4 minutes 13.59 seconds.
The mood was eerie, simmering from disbelief towards anger and the result was unthinkable as in the world of sports, Kenya is primarily known as a nation that produces middle and long distance runners. So dominant are Kenyan runners that many people have come to expect that all Kenyans are predisposed towards distance running and that they are all lean and thin distance running machines.
While the inquest into what has gone wrong for Kenyans in Indoor Athletics here is already raging, postmortems from major events tend to be less aggressive. Kenyans, usually a powerhouse in the middle distance race, have won no medal in the women's 3000m and 1500m, distances presumed to be the nation’s strongholds.
With the experienced 1500m assassin Faith Kipyegon missing in action, the two Kenyans gave their all but could not match the 1500m World and Olympic Champion Faith ,whose out on maternity leave, to make it for the podium finish. Is it possible that there's no depth and no future in the women's 1500m distance beyond Kipyegon?
The senior world championships gold was the only major medal lacking in her collection. She has achieved what most of her peers just dream of. Sample her calling card: World Youth (Under 18), World Junior (Under 20), World Cross, Commonwealth Games, World Relays and Olympic titles before making history as the first Kenyan female world champion in 1,500m since the race was introduced in Gothenburg Sweden in 1995.
Winny Chebet visibly feeling the effects of her 800m exertions earlier in the morning session of day three when she fell agonisingly short of the 800m finals after finishing last in her respective heat setting a seasons best of 2.18.31 stated she had little to give in the latter stages over the longer distance on Saturday night.
The positive slant was that she qualified for Saturday's final. As Winny put it afterwards:" Yes, this is the first time I am in the finals, I am really proud of how I ran. I went for it, I gave it everything I could. I couldn’t have done any more, it just so happened that the legs weren’t in it, fifth is not quite what I wanted, but it will do.”
What went wrong? as a spot check by a Kenyan Outlet Daily Nation with one of Team Kenya's coach revealed,"Last time we missed the gold medals because the athletes we entered were not so strong. But looking at this year's competition, we have no other major event after this apart from the Commonwealth Games," he said. "Top athletes will not decline to compete in Birmingham and Kenya will be a strong candidate to win."
“This track here isn’t the same as what we are used to in the outdoor events, With 200m ovals instead of 400m outdoors, plus six lanes instead of eight, spectators very close. It’s also the year after the Worlds and, if you’ve been successful, you’re enjoying the success, so sometimes one may take their eye off the track. That’s why you get shock results, as we’ve seen here,” added Winny
"The weather was horribly cold as I couldn't go out to train, but I am confident I will register impressive results in the upcoming outdoor events as that is my area of excellence," said Winny.
"I admit that that we haven't raised the Kenyan flag up high in the 1500m distance, so much work to be done. Faith Kipyegon is currently the only Kenyan lady who shone bright in this event. We have to go back to the drawing board to ensure that in Commonwealth and other forthcoming championships we impress," said Winny
Over the past two years Faith has proved herself to be the best 1500m runner in the world and at 23 her dominance could last quite a few more years
