Dibaba squeezes into 1500m final, Kipyegon fastest

LONDON (Reuters) - Defending 1500m world champion Genzebe Dibaba faced an agonising wait before securing qualification for the final after closely contested semi-finals on Saturday.

Dibaba squeezes into 1500m final, Kipyegon fastest

(Reuters)





The Ethiopian world record holder finished sixth in the first semi, meaning she had to wait until the second race was finished before discovering that she had gone through as one of the fastest qualifiers following the automatic places.

Faith Kipyegon of Kenya looks a good bet to add the world title to her 2016 Olympic gold on Monday as she led the way with the fastest time of 4:03.54.

Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands consolidated her position as one of the favourites by qualifying with ease, coming first in her semi-final in a time of 4:03.77. She will be looking to upgrade from the bronze medal she won in Beijing two years ago.

They will be joined by Caster Semenya of South Africa. The twice 800m world champion showed her power in a strong final lap and she could be a strong challenger in her first major 1500m final.

The home crowd were not disappointed as Britons Laura Muir and Laura Weightman made it through.





(Editing by Ed Osmond)


Share

1 min read

Published

Source: Reuters


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world