When the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship gets underway in Budapest, Hungary on Friday, September 11, evening, Kenya’s hopes of making an early impact will rest heavily on a 5,000m duo seeking to revive the country’s fortunes in the event.
The three-day championship, involving 381 athletes from 65 nations competing in 28 disciplines, will be held at Budapest’s National Athletics Centre.
Cornelius Kemboi and Jacob Krop will line up in the men’s 5,000m final. Special attention will be on Kemboi, who arrives in the Hungarian capital fresh from a third-place finish in the Diamond League Final in Brussels last weekend.
Jacob Krop (right) leads Daniel Simiu in the men's 5000m final during the Kenyan trials for the World Athletics Championship at Nyayo Stadium on July 8, 2023.
Photo credit: Chris Omollo | Nation Media Group
The action starts at 8.08pm Kenyan time. The 5,000m race will blast off at 9.36pm.
Kemboi, who trains in Iten under revered coach Bro Colm ‘O’Connell, produced the best performance of his career in Brussels last weekend when he clocked a personal best time of 12:47.29 to finish third behind Bahrain’s Birhanu Balew and Burundi’s Egide Ntakarutimana. Balew won in a world-leading 12:45.70, while Ntakarutimana ran a national record of 12:46.73.
Kemboi’s bronze, however, offered a timely reminder that Kenya has firepower to challenge for honours over the distance.
Kemboi has shown tremendous improvement after finishing fourth at this year’s Commonwealth Games in a time of 13:24.99.
Cornelius Kemboi wins the men’s 10km senior race during the 33rd Edition of Discovery Kenya Cross-Country Championship at Eldoret Sports Club in Uasin Gishu County on January 28, 2024.
“I just want to run my race and register good results,” said Kemboi. Paris Olympic Games 10,000m and 5,000m bronze medallist, Grant Fisher of the USA is the fastest in the field with a personal best of 12:44.09 and Commonwealth Games 5,000m silver medallist, Ky Robinson of Australia.
Ethiopians Biniam Mehary (12:45.93), who finished fifth in 5,00m at the World Championships last year, and Addisu Yihune, the winner in 5,000m at Oslo and Xiamen Diamond League this year, are also part of the rich field.
Burundi’s Egide Ntakarutimana, who claimed the silver in 5,000m at the Diamond League final in Brussel, with a blistering national record of 12:46.73, is another man to watch.
Will the Kenyan’s break their jinx of never winning a men’s 5,000m at a major championship since 2005?
Asbel Kiprop Kiprono (right), Cornelius Kemboi (centre) and Felix Kibet negotiate a tight bend during the Athletics Kenya Betika Elgeyo Marakwet Cross Country senior men’s 10km on January 11, 2025. Kiprop won the race in 27:02.3 with Kemboi finishing second in 27:03.0. The duo are among prominent athletes who have entered the Sirikwa Classic Cross Country that will be held tomorrow at Lobo Village.
Photo credit: Jared Nyataya | Nation Media Group
In that year, Benjamin Limo claimed the Helsinki World Athletics Championships gold medal.
In a fiercely contested final, he crossed the finish line in 13:32.55 ahead of Ethiopia’s Sileshi Sihine and Australia’s Craig Mottram. Eliud Kipchoge finished fourth.
Kenya will be represented in the mixed 4x400m relay by George Mutuku, Boniface Mweresa, Kelvin Tonui, Lanoline Aoko, Mercy Chebet and Mercy Oketch.
The relay quartet will give Kenya another opportunity to make an impression at an event designed to bring the sport’s biggest names together in a new championship format.
Other Kenyans in the mix in Budapest are evergreen Julius Yego (Javelin), Timothy Cheruiyot (1,500m), Phanuel Koech (1,500m), manof the moment Emmanuel Wanyonyi (800m) and Dorcas Ewoi.
The Ultimate Championship has the richest prize fund in track and field history of $10 million (about Sh1.3 billion).
Each winner will walk away with a cash prize of $150,000 (Sh19.5 million).
Second-place finishers will poclet $70,000 (Sh9 million), third-place $40,000 (Sh5.1 million) and fourth-placed $25,000 (Sh3.3 million).
The prize scheme covers the top 16 finishers in each category of competition, with the 16th-placed finisher receiving $2,000 (Sh258,800).
