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The three-time 1,500m world champion will compete in the grueling 5,000m final on Saturday as youngster Wanyonyi seeks a first senior title in 800m
Faith Kipyegon can do anything, it seems, an impression which will only be heightened if she can complete a 1,500m-5,000m double.
The 5,000m is one of the three world records the peerless Kenyan broke in her June-July splurge, but also the harder event for her to win.
Gudaf Tsegay is defending the title she won in Oregon and chasing the more common distance double of 5,000m-10,000m. Tsegay prevailed in the home-straight dramatics in the 10,000m on the opening night.
Sifan Hassan, who fell in that race before coming back to take the bronze in the 1,500m behind Kipyegon, must also be reckoned with.
Kenya’s number two – or will that be number one – Beatrice Chebet comes with world cross-country champion’s endurance matched with the speed which saw her a close second to Tsegay at the London Diamond League.
As with the men’s final the following day, the more you look at the start-list, the more possible winners you see.
Meanwhile, Emmanuel Wanyonyi’s year started with a gold medal for Kenya in the mixed relay at the World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst but can he crown it by completing a transition from world U20 champion at 800m to senior world champion?
Well, yes, he can. Still eligible for U20 competition (he was 19 on 1 August), Wanyoni has already finished fourth in a senior World Championships in Oregon last year. An eighth-place blip in Monaco aside, his form is consistent and he has won both heat and semi in Budapest.
Wanyonyi runs with a certain cockiness which seems to indicate he is not intimidated at the prospect of racing his elders. There are seven others thinking they can win, too, in a wide-open race, but why shouldn’t Wanyonyi come through.
The men's 800m final will take place at 9.30pm while the women's 5,00m final will be run at 9.50pm Kenyan time.
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