Jackline Chepkoech fires warning to Beatrice Chepkoech with dominant victory in London

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ATHLETICS Jackline Chepkoech fires warning to Beatrice Chepkoech with dominant victory in London

Joel Omotto 17:45 - 23.07.2023

The 19-year-old made her intentions of winning steeplechase gold at the World Championships known as she stunned the world record holder.

Jackline Chepkoech showed why she could be the next steeplechase queen from Kenya when she defeated world record holder Beatrice Chepkoech at the London Diamond League on Sunday.

The 19-year-old run a tactical race, leaping to the front alongside her compatriot Beatrice Chepkoech, as the two Kenyans left the rest of the pack by a distance with two laps to go.

However, as the final lap approached, she sprinted off and left Beatrice Chepkoech by a massive gap to win the race in a meet-record time of 8:57.35 while her compatriot managed a season’s best 9:04.34 for second place.

Her victory would suggest a changing of guard perhaps given her meteoric rise since winning the 2021 World Under-20 title before claiming gold at last year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

The teenager is just fresh from finishing second at the Athletics Kenya World Championships National Trials, which Beatrice Chepkoech won, but her exploits suggest that the 2019 world champion has her work cut out at next month’s Worlds in Budapest, Hungary.

The 32-year-old missed last year’s global event in Eugene, Oregon due to an injury but she has since announced her return in style, hoping to reclaim her crown in Budapest.

She will, however, have to be wary of the emerging talent going by her exploits in London.