Youngster Emmanuel Kiprono on Friday, 7 August earned Kenya its second gold medal at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Oregon, this after completely dominating the 3000m field in a Championship Record time of 7:28.28.Download our Mozzart Sport app for more newsKiprono, 17, was unstoppable in the event final, leading from gun-to-tape, to record an absurd solo finish that fell just 0.09 seconds behind Yomif Kejelcha’s World Junior Record time of 7:38.67 set in 2017.##NAJAVA_MECA_9883855##The St. Francis Kimuron Boys High School student was in a class of his own enroute to his historic run, going out to a 2:26.52 split in the first 1000m, before recording times of 3:54.58 at 1600m, and 4:55.43 at 2000m.So big was his winning margin that he won by almost half a lap, with over 19 seconds separating him from his closest chaser – Alois Abraham of France – who took silver in 7:47.79.Japan’s Ojiro Honda came in third, winning bronze in a national U20 record time of 7:48.49.Kenya wins three medals on Day One of World Athletics U20 ChampionshipsKenya’s other representative in the race, Edwin Elkana, was only ninth in a personal best time of 7:51.94.With the big win, which broke the previous Championship Record by nearly 14 seconds, Kiprono, a silver-medalist at this year’s U20 men’s 8 km cross-country race in Tallahassee, won Kenya its fifth medal in Eugene.This came moments after Anatasha Cheptoo had claimed bronze in the women’s 3000m steeplechase final, clocking a time of 9:37.18.Kenya's dream of hosting 2029 World Championships faces major threat as new bidder joins raceCheptoo, 18, was a long way off from the Ethiopian duo of Almaz Yohannis and Wozane Assefa, who took gold and silver, respectively.Yohannis, an African Championships bronze medallist was the cream of the crop, taking the race win in a World U20 Leading time of 9:15.81, with her compatriot Assefa running a season best 9:30.50.Unfortunately, Kenya’s other runner in the race, Mercy Chepngeno Koskey, recorded a Did Not Finish (DNF), following a scary moment that saw her struggled with apparent exhaustion at the water jump just after the 2400m mark, forcing her to get medical attention.##NAJAVA_MECA_9883831##Meanwhile in the heats, Kenya will have two representatives in the men’s 800m final on Saturday evening, after both Nashon Pkiach and Collins Tajewou won their respective semifinals.There will be no Kenyan, however, in the women’s 800m final, after sole representative Marion Jepchumba finished last in her semifinal in a time of 2:06.88.
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