Yusuf Saad Kamel in the final meters of his 1500m victory on Wednesday. © www.photorun.net
Yusuf Saad Kamel, son of the double world 800-meter champion Billy Konchellah from Kenya, won the first major title of his career in Berlin on Wednesday. The 26-year-old won the 1500m final in 3:35.93 minutes. The silver medal went to Deresse Mekonnen (3:36.01) of Ethiopia while the defending champion, Bernard Lagat of the United States, ran 3:36.20 to win the bronze. Kenyan citizens Asbel Kiprop was fourth (3:36.47) and Augustine Choge finished fifth in 3:36.53.
The race was relatively uneventful at the beginning. Lagat and Choge controlled tactics from the front with Mekonnen tucked in behind them. This was how the race unfolded until the bell lap. As the runners picked up the pace, Saad Kamel moved into a good position behind this trio. Mekonnen made the first move and surged into the lead. Choge was behind him while Lagat got boxed in next to the curb off the final bend, forcing him to expend energy to get in the open for the home straight. Once he was in position, Lagat put in a good kick and would have certainly had a say in the outcome of the gold were he not boxed in.
“No-one expected me to win today but I knew that I could beat Bernard Lagat,” said Yusuf Saad Kamel in the post-race press conference. Referencing his father’s victories in Rome in 1987 and Tokyo in 1991, he made his own goals clear. “My father has two World Championship gold medals, I want to win three,” he explained.
In other exciting news, Caster Semenya of South Africa won the women’s 800m final with a 1:55.45 which is a world-best time this year. This season she had caused a major surprise in winning the African title in the 800m and 1500m events.
The defending champion, Janeth Jepkosgei of Kenya, couldn’t respond when Semenya began her long kick for home. “I so wanted to win the gold but it wasn’t to be. At least I will go home with a medal,” said an upbeat Jepkosgei, who finished in 1:57.90. Bursting through to win a surprise bronze in the final was the up-and-coming Briton, Jenny Meadows. In the last few meters, she caught Ukraine’s Yuliya Krevsun and finished in 1:57.93. “I can’t quite believe I’ve won my first medal at a major championship,” said an excited Meadows.
The women’s 5,000m final will take place on Saturday without the Olympic champion Tirunesh Dibaba. This follows her unfortunate withdrawal from the 10,000m in Berlin because of injury. Nevertheless, the Ethiopian women will still have four contenders in the final. Meseret Defar qualified automatically having won the title in Osaka in 2007 and ran 15:16.46 to win the second heat from the Kenyan Vivian Cheruiyot (15:16.59) who finished second in the Osaka final behind Defar. Another Ethiopian, Sentayehu Ejigu, won the first heat in 15:17.64 from the Kenyan, Sylvia Kibet (15:17.77).
Meselech Melkamu, narrowly beaten by the Kenyan winner Linet Masai in the 10,000m, also qualified for the final. Tirunesh Dibaba’s sister, Genzebe, rounds out the Ethiopian quartet. The third Kenyan in the final will be Ines Chenonge.
Once again, the stage is set for a great contest between the world’s two best distance running nations!
