Olympic and world 3,000m steeplechase champion Conseslus Kipruto says he is on course to full fitness after running in only his second race of the season at the Paris leg of the IAAF Diamond League on Saturday night at the Stade Sébastien Charléty.
In a race the African Champion clocked 8:13.75 and won by world number one this season, Moroccan Soufiane El Bakkali 8:06.54, he remains optimistic of doing better in the remaining races of the Diamond League.
“I am happy that I am racing again and that I got through this race without any problem,” said Kipruto in an interview with the IAAF.
“My foot feels good. I am sure in the Diamond League final and in Doha people will see the Kipruto they know,” he stated further.
The Moroccan who had previously won two events this season, clocking 8:07.22 in Doha on May 3 and 8:04.82 in Monaco on July 12 was followed by newly crowned Kenyan Champion Benjamin Kigen 8:07.09 as Ethiopia’s Lamecha Girma took third position in 8:08.63.
The races was Kipruto’s first Diamond League race this season and his second race of the year since winning bronze in mixed relay at the World Cross Country Championships on March 30 in Aarhus, Denmark.
Fifth place for him was just enough to qualify for the IAAF Diamond League final. Kipruto retained his Diamond League trophy in Zurich, which was his last DL event in August last year before going for the Continental Cup title in September in Ostrava.
With the conclusion of the Paris leg, attention shifts to the Diamond League finals on August 24 in Zurich, Switzerland and September 6 in Brussels, Belgium.
The performance for Kipruto in Paris opens the door for him to qualify for the two-legged final before heading back home to prepare for the Kenya team’s world championships trials on September 12-13.
Out of competition
In May, Kipruto’s agent Michel Boeting warned that Kipruto had been advised by the doctors to rest and avoid exerting pressure on his foot. The 24-year-old had suffered a foot fracture and was due to stay out of competition until September.
But his inclusion in Kenya team and participation at the Africa Games will be a boost for the country, which has struggled to fend off rivals in the water and hurdle race.
Kenya head coach Julius Kirwa believes the team will improve on their five gold medal haul in Brazzaville, Congo back in 2015. “Nobody really can question the talent in Olympic and world champ Conseslus Kipruto. At 24-year-old he remains top of his game and hopeful he will make the team to World Championships. But with injuries, you can never be certain, so we need to plan,” Kirwa said.
