Cornelius Kemboi Comes to the Rescue With Podium Finish in the Men's 5000m in Brussels

Bahrain’s Birhanu Balew put on a masterclass in the men’s 5000m, storming to victory in a world-leading time of 12:45.70 at the Diamond League Meeting final in Brussels.

Burundi’s Egide Ntakarutimana pushed hard down the stretch to secure the runner-up spot, setting a national record of 12:46.73. Kenya’s Cornelius Kemboi led the national charge by grabbing the final podium spot, slicing down his personal best to clock 12:47.29 for third place.

Fellow countryman Jacob Krop delivered a strong effort further back in the pack, taking seventh place in a season’s best performance of 12:51.23. Rounding out the Kenyan contingent, Reynold Cheruiyot dug deep to complete the ten-man field, crossing the finish line in 13:22.24.

Reynold Cheruiyot opened his 2026 campaign on January 10 on the turf, placing fourth in the Cross-Country Relay (22:42) at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee.

He followed that up by winning the 2.0km loop at the Sirikwa Classic Cross-Country title in Eldoret with a time of 5:52.

Cheruiyot then placed ninth in the 1500m short track (3:42.27) at Liévin on February 19 before sweeping his domestic finals in Nairobi, winning the 1500m (3:36.1h) at the World Relays Trials on April 11 and placing second in the 1500m (3:34.73) at the Kip Keino Classic on April 24.

On May 16, he clocked an impressive 7:26.11 for second place in the 3000m at the Shaoxing Diamond League, then returned home to claim the 1500m national police title (3:44.06) on May 27.

He then finished seventh in the 1500m (3:32.00) in Rabat on May 31, then ninth in the Mile (3:49.72) in Oslo on June 10, a runner-up spot in the 1500m (3:32.35) at the Commonwealth Games Trials on June 20, a fifth-place finish in the 1500m (3:30.28) in Paris on June 28, and an eleventh-place finish in the Mile (3:51.31) at the Prefontaine Classic on July 4.

After a setback on July 29, when he recorded a DNF in his Mile heat at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Cheruiyot capped off his recent swing on August 23 with a 3:37.37 clocking in the 1500m at the Silesia Diamond League before heading to Brussels.

On his part, Jacob Krop kicked off his 2026 season on the indoor circuit, placing second in the 3000m short track events at Karlsruhe (7:38.64) on February 8 and Liévin (7:34.68) on February 19, before securing fourth at the World Indoor Championships in Toruń (7:36.76) on March 21.

Returning outdoors, he grabbed a third-place finish in the 5000m (13:13.59) at the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi on April 24 and took eighth in the 3000m (7:28.72) at the Shaoxing Diamond League on May 16.

He finished 12th in Oslo (13:01.51) on June 10, followed by a brilliant runner-up finish in Paris (12:55.22) on June 28 over 5000m. He closed out his recent outings with a fourth-place finish in Monaco (12:53.71) on July 10, before finishing fourteenth in Lausanne (13:13.29) on August 21.

Meanwhile, Cornelius Kemboi opened his 2026 campaign with a 35th-place finish at the Sirikwa Classic in Eldoret before shifting to the roads to take fourth in the 10 Kilometres Road (27:12) at the Urban Trail de Lille on April 4.

Returning to the track, he kicked off his outdoor season with a win in the 5000m (13:09.31) at the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi on April 24, followed by a fifth-place finish in the 3000m (7:27.46) in Shaoxing on May 16 and an eighth-place effort in the 5000m (13:08.45) in Xiamen on May 23.

His momentum built through June with a 10th-place finish in the 5000m (12:56.02) at the Oslo Bislett Games on June 10, a runner-up finish in the 5000m final (13:46.94) at the Commonwealth Games Trials in Nairobi on June 20, and an eighth-place finish in the 5000m (12:58.10) in Paris on June 28.

Kemboi capped off his summer by claiming fifth in the 5000m (12:57.36) in Monaco on July 10, placing fourth in the 5000m final (13:24.99) at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on August 1, and securing fifth in the 5000m (12:59.33) at Athletissima Lausanne on August 21 before heading to Brussels.