Beatrice Chebet shows Sifan Hassan who is boss at London Diamond League

ATHLETICS Beatrice Chebet shows Sifan Hassan who is boss at London Diamond League

Joel Omotto 17:23 - 23.07.2023

The Kenyan saved the best for last as she defeated the Olympic champion to maintain her hot streak this season.

Commonwealth Games champion Beatrice Chebet beat Olympic champion Sifan Hassan for a second time as she recorded a personal best to finish second in the 5,000m at the London Diamond League on Sunday.

With Hassan and world champion Gudaf Tsegay in the race, it was always going to be a tough race for the Kenyan but she gave a good account of herself in the English capital, recording a personal best of 14:12.92 to finish behind the Ethiopian (14:12.29) while the London Marathon winner settled for third in 14:13.42.

Hassan looked on course to winning the race, having taken the lead on the back straight in the final lap, but she run out of gas in the final 100m when Tsegay overtook her before Chebet also edged ahead.

The last time Chebet and Hassan clashed was during the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, where the Kenyan finished second as the Dutchwoman fizzled out to finish sixth and the script was repeated in London, setting the stage for an explosive 5,000m race at next month’s World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

Chebet has had a stellar season so far, having opened her track season with a win at the Kip Keino Classic in May before reigning supreme in a series of 1,500m races.

She then proceeded to the Diamond League Meeting in Oslo, Norway where she won the the 3,000m race before obliterating a strong field in Stockholm to win the 5,000m race.

Hassan also came into the race in good form as she was undefeated in four races this season before Sunday’s loss, having won over 5,000m in Portland last month, and prior to that winning both the 10,000m and 1,500m on successive days at the FBK Games in early June.