Paris Olympics: Overlooked Jackline Chepkoech out to dazzle in Paris' bright lights

Going into her debut Olympics, Jackline Chepkoech faces a tough but certainly attainable task of being a top contender in the women’s 3000m race in Paris.

The 20-year-old, born on 3 October 2003, has seen her early career jump off to unprecedented success, but even with that, still lies a cloud of uncertainty about what to expect from her when she lines up for the heats on Sunday 4 August.

Her professional career began with a World U20 title in 2021 in Nairobi, Kenya in the women’s 3000m steeplechase, and continued with the impressive start in 2022.

The Kenyan steeplechaser opened her season with victory at the senior Kenyan Championships, beating many of her more experienced compatriots and setting a PB of 9:26.12 in the process.

That PB lasted exactly one month as she went on to chop 10 seconds off it with a 9:15.97 run at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Eugene.

Exit Beatrice, enter Jackline - teenager destroys Brussels steeplechase field

A few weeks later, she backed up her national championships win with a victory at Kenya’s trial event for the World Championships, running 9:21.84 at the high altitude of Nairobi.

At the World Athletics Championships in Oregon in 2022, her first senior international championships, she acquitted herself well, but missed out on a spot in the final by two places. From then on, though, she did not put a foot wrong and enjoyed a strong finish to her season.

Her next stop was the Commonwealth Games, where she won gold in a PB of 9:15.68, beating Olympic champion Peruth Chemutai in the process.

Just five days later, Chepkoech reduced her PB to 9:09.72 at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Monaco.

She still was not finished, though.

After a three-week break from racing, she returned to action at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Brussels and beat a high-quality field to win in 9:02.43, elevating to second on the world U20 all-time list and 13th on the senior all-time list.

She wrapped up her season with a fifth-place finish at the Wanda Diamond League final in Zurich in 9:11.06, the third-fastest time of her blossoming career.

But as good as the beginnings were, not much of the same can be said of her recent form since 2023, as she has struggled to keep up with the high-flying performance, with the only being a win at the London Diamond League meeting in July 2023.

Having impressed at the Kenya Trials and successfully booked her place at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, she finished eighth, and is yet to win a race in 2024.

Could be the harsh criticism that goes against her early success, but a first trip in Paris could just be the perfect place to prove the doubters wrong.

Chepkoech qualified for the Olympic Games by finishing third at the Team Kenya Olympic Trials with a time of 9:34.86, and will definitely look at fighting off her two counterparts - Beatrice Chepkoech and Faith Cherotich - as she seeks to pull up a major surprise.

Cherotich, Chepkoech bag steeplechase slots to Paris

Also in her target list will be World champion Winfred Yavi, 2022 world champion Norah Jeruto, and defending Olympic champion Chemutai.