Monaco DL: Faith Kipyegon chasing third consecutive WR as history beckons for Omanyala

Kenya’s multiple Olympic and World champion Faith Kipyegon will be chasing a third consecutive world record at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Monaco this Friday (21) as her compatriot Ferdinand Omanyala targets a top podium finish for the first time in his Diamond League career.

While Omanyala, Africa’s fastest man and the reigning Commonwealth champion, will be lining up in his normal 100m men’s race, Kipyegon will be attempting something slightly different to her 1500m specialty as they tune up for the World Athletics Championships which get underway in Budapest in less than a month.

Kipyegon went on a record-breaking tear in June, becoming the first woman to crack 3:50 for the 1500m as she set a new global standard of 3:49.11 in Florence (2 June) and then following up with an even more impressive run exactly one week later in Paris, when she brought down the 5000m world record, clocking 14:05.20.

Following her record breaking exploits, the trailblazing Kenyan will turn her attention to the mile, where her personal best of 4:16.71 was set in 2015 when she was a full 10 seconds slower over 1500m than she is this year.

The mile world record stands at 4:12.33, set by Kipyegon’s long-time rival Sifan Hassan on the Stade Louis II track at Herculis in 2019. And if Kipyegon’s progress this year is reflected in this race, then another exhilarating performance is on its way.

A strong field has also been assembled around her, including Olympic silver medalist Laura Muir (PB of 4:18.03), Oceanian record-holder Jessica Hull of Australia (4:18.24) and US 1500m champion Nikki Hiltz (4:18.38).

Omanyala on the other hand will be hoping to clinch first place when he features against former African record holder Akani Simbine of South Africa and Botswana’s world U20 champion Letsile Tebogo.

In the four Diamond League races he has taken part in, Omanyala’s best place finish remains to be second place which came in the Florence and Paris 2023 outings.

And with Americans Fred Kerley and Noah Lyles out of the mix, Omanyala has a chance to become the first Kenyan to win a 100m race in the Diamond League.

Simbine will definitely be in the mood for the race after coming off a win in Silesia where he handed World champion Fred Kerley his first defeat this season.

The African trio will be joined by Jamaican trio of Yohan Blake, Ackeem Blake and Kishane Thompson, as well as USA’s Courtney Lindsey.

In the 5000m, Kenyan’s Nicholas Kipkorir and World Silver medalist Jacob Krop will try to challenge in a field that is headed by this year’s world leader Berihu Aregawi (12:40.45) and a high-class quartet of his Ethiopian compatriots – Telahun Bekele, Hagos Gebrhiwet, Samuel Tefera and Kuma Girma – as well as Uganda’s world cross-country champion Jacob Kiplimo and leading Europeans Mohamed Katir of Spain and Yemaneberhan Crippa of Italy.

Ferdinand Omanyala: The stone that was once rejected but is now Kenya’s athletic cornerstone

The men’s 800m has five of the six fastest men this year, including pace-setting Kenyan Emmanuel Wanyonyi (world leader with 1:43.27), Wycliffe Kinyamal and Olympic and world champion Emmanual Korir, in-form Canadian Marco Arop (1:43.30 this year), as well as emerging Algerian duo Slimane Moula and Djamel Sedjati, who have both run well under 1:44 this year.

Kenya’s Commonwealth champion Abraham Kibiwot (8:05.51 this year) leads a solid 3000m steeplechase field, which also features former world and Olympic champion Conseslus Kipruto.

BREAKING: Gor Mahia facing expulsion from CAF CL

In-form two lap specialist Mary Moraa will test her pace and one lap prowess against Olympic and World 400m hurdles champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone from USA.

The two athletes will head into the EBS Herculis Meeting on the back of impressive performances which saw Moraa set a new 400m national record when she clocked 50.38s in the Kenyan trials for the Budapest World Championship in a race that she led from gun to tape.

McLaughlin-Levrone on the other hand, clocked a world-leading 48.74 last weekend to win the US 400m title.

The two will test themselves against Ireland’s NCAA champion Rhasidat Adeleke (49.20) and Poland’s Natalia Kaczmarek, who made a big breakthrough to win her home Diamond League meeting in Silesia last weekend in 49.48.

The highlight of the women’s sprint programme may well be the meeting between the fastest two 200m sprinters this season, US champion Gabby Thomas (21.60) and Jamaica’s world champion Shericka Jackson (21.71), with US college star Julien Alfred of St Lucia and 2019 world champion Dina Asher-Smith also in the mix.