Vivian Chebet advance to 800m semis at World Indoor Championships

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ATHLETICS Vivian Chebet advance to 800m semis at World Indoor Championships

Festus Chuma 17:35 - 01.03.2024

Vivian Chebet has advanced to the 800m semi-finals at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow, shining as Kenya's sole representative.

Vivian Chebet is the only Kenyan athlete who has qualified for the semi-finals of the 800m event at the World Athletics Indoor Championships.

The event, which commenced on Friday at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland, saw Chebet deliver a season's best performance of 2:00.86 seconds, earning her a third-place finish in her heat and a coveted spot in Saturday's semi-finals.

Chebet, whose personal best of 2:03.72 was set in Germany just last month, proved her mettle against a competitive field. 

Despite having the slowest personal best in her heat, she demonstrated resilience and strategic racing to secure her advancement. 

This achievement is particularly noteworthy as it comes in a heat won by Ethiopia's Habitam Alemu with a time of 2:00.50 seconds, closely followed by Jamaica's Natoya Goule-Toppin, who also posted a season's best of 2:00.83 seconds.

The 28-year-old Kenyan's performance stood out on a day mixed with fortunes for her compatriots. 

World mixed 2x2x400m relay silver medallist Naomi Korir, another hopeful for Kenya, failed to advance after finishing fourth in her heat with a time of 2:03.13. 

Korir, who entered the race with an indoor personal best of 2:00.66 set in Spain in 2002, fell just short of qualifying for the semi-finals.

As the sole Kenyan remaining in the competition, Chebet carries the hopes of her nation into the semi-finals.

With her season's best performance, she has already demonstrated her capability to compete at the highest level, and her journey in Glasgow is far from over. 

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