Kenya’s top athletes, including Olympic champions and rising stars, are set to clash with some of the world’s best at the fourth leg of the 2025 Wanda Diamond League in Rabat this Sunday.
Double Olympic gold medallist Beatrice Chebet will headline the women’s 3000 metres, aiming for a second Diamond League victory this season after her 5000m triumph in Xiamen in April.
Chebet, also the world record holder in the 10,000m, will face a strong Ethiopian challenge led by Medina Eisa and Ejgayehu Taye, who are ranked second and third globally. Fellow Kenyan Janeth Chepngetich, with a personal best of 8:23.48, will also feature in the highly anticipated showdown.
In the men’s 800 metres, Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi makes a return to the Diamond League, hoping to maintain his dominance. With a personal best of 1:41.11, Wanyonyi is the man to beat. He will be up against Doha winner Tshepiso Masalela, Kethobogile Haingura of Botswana, Commonwealth Games champion Wycliffe Kinyamal, and young talent Aaron Cheminingwa.
Africa’s fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala will compete in the men’s 100 metres, renewing his rivalry with Olympic bronze medallist Fred Kerley of the USA and South Africa’s Akani Simbine. Omanyala, who recently set a new 150m record at the Atlanta City Games, will be making his third Diamond League appearance this season. He returns to Rabat where he finished third in 2023, behind Kerley and Simbine.
Nelly Chepchirchir will be eyeing back-to-back wins in the women’s 1500 metres after a dominant display in Doha. The Kenyan, who has a personal best of 3:56.14, will battle Ethiopia’s Saron Berhe and Australia’s Sarah Billings.
The men’s 1500 metres will showcase Kenya’s depth in middle-distance running. Brian Komen, who holds a personal best of 3:28.80, will lead a strong team that includes Reynold Cheruiyot, fresh from a 5000m win in Doha, Vincent Keter, Boaz Kiprugut and Festus Lagat.
The men’s 3000m steeplechase will close the evening’s action, with Olympic champion and Moroccan favourite Soufiane El Bakkali seeking redemption on home soil after recent losses to Kenyan opponents.
Kenya will be represented by Olympic bronze medallist Abraham Kibiwot and world U20 champion Edmund Serem. Serem’s elder brother Amos stunned El Bakkali in Brussels last season to win the Diamond League title, and the younger sibling hopes to emulate that feat in Rabat.
