Kenyans finish outside top 10 bracket in men's 5000m

It was a nightmare evening for Kenya’s distance running stars as they struggled to keep pace in a fiercely contested men's 5,000m race at the Oslo Diamond League held on Thursday, 12 June in Norway.

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It was the USA’s Nico Young who stunned the field with a dominant finish to clinch victory in 12:45.27.

Despite early hopes resting on Jacob Krop and Nicholas Kipkorir, both athletes faded as the race progressed, ultimately finishing outside the top 10 in a field packed with emerging global talent.

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The race opened with Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha asserting early control, later handing the lead to Germany’s Thorwirth Maximilian.

A shifting lead pack followed, with Gemechu Dida and Girma Kuma briefly contending as Krop held fifth and Kipkorir trailed in ninth. But as the pace dipped in the second kilometre, Kenya’s challenge began to waver.

Kejelcha retook the lead midway, only to lose momentum again as teenager Kuma and Ethiopia’s Biniam Mehary surged to the front.

Krop attempted to stay within striking distance, but could not sustain the charge, falling back to ninth as the race heated up with two laps to go. Kipkorir, too, dropped back into the lower ranks.

With a lap remaining, Nico made his move, seizing the lead ahead of Mehary and Kuma. The American then produced a devastating final kick down the homestretch to seal an emphatic win in one of the fastest times this year.

Ethiopia’s Mehary Biniam claimed second in 12:45.93, while Girma Kuma took third in 12:46.41.

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Kenya’s best result came from Jacob Krop, who finished 11th in 12:51.16. Nicholas Kipkorir, meanwhile, had a night to forget, crossing the line in 14th place at 13:06.92.

Men's One Mile

Elsewhere in the men's one mile, Timothy Cheruiyot finished fourth in 3:49.06, registering a personal best but continuing to show the struggle to recapture his past dominance.

Cheruiyot, once the rising star who stunned the world by clinching the world title in Doha six years ago with a commanding 3:29.26 in the 1500m, has struggled to maintain that form.

He relinquished his title at the 2022 World Championships in Oregon, coming sixth with 3:30.69. The following year in Budapest, his campaign ended prematurely in the semi-finals after clocking 3:37.40.

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During the Paris Olympics, he placed 11th in the 1500m final with a time of 3:31.35. A glimmer of hope came at the Brussels Diamond League in September, where he returned to the podium with a second-place finish in 3:30.93.

Before the Oslo race, Cheruiyot had impressed at the fifth leg of the Diamond League in Rome, and earlier in May, he had run the men’s 800m at the Grand Slam Track Series in Miami, finishing eighth in 1:47.12.