Beatrice Chepkoech ready to conquer World Championships after Lausanne victory

ATHLETICS Beatrice Chepkoech ready to conquer World Championships after Lausanne victory

Abigael Wafula 08:20 - 01.07.2023

She missed out on last year’s World Championships in Oregon, USA due to a series of injuries.

World 3,000m steeplechase record holder Beatrice Chepkoech is ready to reclaim her title when she heads to the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

The 2019 world champion revealed that she wants to go to Budapest and execute a tactical race to reclaim her title. She missed out on last year’s World Championships in Oregon, USA due to a series of injuries but has since announced her comeback with a win at the just-concluded Diamond League Meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Chepkoech controlled the race and ended up taking victory in a meet record time of 9:05.98 ahead of Ethiopia’s Sembo Almayew who clocked 9:06.82. Uganda’s Peruth Chemutai completed the podium after clocking 9:11.91.

In a post-race interview, Chepkoech said: “I’m really happy about today’s (Friday) race, I feel so good tonight! This is my first time in Lausanne and I just loved running here, the atmosphere was amazing. My goal is now to get to Budapest and do the best I can.”

The win marks her first victory since she made a comeback to the Diamond League meetings considering the last time she won in a Diamond League was in 2019. She opened her season with a 1,500m race at the second Athletics Kenya meet where she won.

The 31-year-old then proceeded to the 10KM Port Gentil in Botswana where she also won. She also competed in the 5,000m race at the sixth AK meet, winning the race and recently also took on the 12.5 lap event at the National Championships and finished second. In May, she won the 3,000m SC at the Kip Keino Classic.

In the Diamond League meetings, she opened her campaign in Doha, Qatar, where she finished fourth in the 3,000m SC. She also finished fourth at the meeting in Florence, Italy.