ATHLETICS – Bahraini elite athletes Birhanu Balew and Nelly Jepkosgei both put in strong performances last night at the Meeting de Paris in France – the latest stop on this year’s prestigious Diamond League.
Balew finished in fifth place in a hotly contested men’s 5,000 metres while Jepkosgei clocked a new personal best en route to taking sixth in the women’s 1,500 metres.
In the men’s 5,000m, Balew stayed behind the race’s leaders for virtually the entire run but made a furious charge to the finish and was able to overtake at least four of his competitors around the last bend.
He maintained his blistering sprint down the home straight to register a time of 12 minutes 56.66 seconds.
Grant Fisher of the US won in 12:54.80, while Jacob Krop of Kenya took second in 12:55.22.
Right ahead of 30-year-old Balew were Andreas Almgren of Sweden in 12:55.38 for third and Egide Ntakarutimana of Burundi in 12:56.06 in fourth.
In the women’s 1,500m, Jepkosgei maintained her place in the trailing group for much of the distance before going for a sprint finish.
The 34-year-old could have secured fifth but she took her foot off the gas as she was about to cross the line, allowing Abbey Caldwell from Australia to beat her by two-hundredths of a second.
Jepkosgei was still able to register her new fastest individual mark of 3:57.61 – eclipsing her old personal record of 4:00.99, which she set in 2018.
Georgia Hunter Bell from Britain triumphed in 3:55.36, while Freweyni Hailu from Ethiopia was second in 3:55.92.
Agathe Guillemot from France claimed third in 3:56.24, while Jessica Hull finished ahead of her compatriot Caldwell in 3:57.22.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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