After missing out to Ethiopia in most of the distance races at the IAAF World U18 Championships Nairobi 2017, Kenya won the one gold medal they would have wanted more than any other, with Leonard Bett charging to victory in the boys' 2000m steeplechase final on Sunday (16).
Locked in a battle against compatriot Cleophas Meyan all the way to the line, Bett won a sprint finish in 5:32.52, much to the delight of the large crowd which turned out on the last day of action at the five-day showpiece.
Meyan took the silver medal in 5:33.07, chopping nearly three seconds off his personal best, and Ethiopia's Alemu Kitessa came through for bronze in 5:42.10.
&ldquo;The race went as planned and I'm happy our strategy for me to kick in the last 200m worked well,&rdquo; Bett said.
&ldquo;We were not worried about the Ethiopians at all.&rdquo;
It was Kenya's eighth victory in the boys' steeplechase at 10 editions of these championships.
&ldquo;The fans were awesome. They really motivated us,&rdquo; added the gold medallist.
&ldquo;We had to maintain the tradition of steeplechase as a race.&rdquo;
Wesley Botton for the IAAF

After missing out to Ethiopia in most of the distance races at the IAAF World U18 Championships Nairobi 2017, Kenya won the one gold medal they would have wanted more than any other, with Leonard Bett charging to victory in the boys' 2000m steeplechase final on Sunday (16).

Report: boys' 2000m steeplechase – IAAF World U18 Championships Nairobi 2017

Taking advantage of her compatriot's error, Kenya&rsquo;s Caren Chebet charged to victory at the IAAF World U18 Championships Nairobi 2017 on Friday (14), winning the gold medal in a dramatic girls' 2000m steeplechase final.
Having pulled away from Chebet in the closing stages, Mercy Chepkirui looked to have the race wrapped up on the final lap, but she stumbled at the last water jump and was left sprawled on the track.
Yanking herself back up, Chepkirui soon regained her rhythm, but she could not respond to a late surge from Chebet and settled for second place.
Chebet crossed the line in 6:24.80, chopping nearly three seconds off Chepkirui's world U18 lead, and Chepkirui took silver, also setting a personal best of 6:26.10 to the delight of the home crowd.
Ethiopia's Etalemahu Sintayehu grabbed the bronze medal in 6:35.79.
"I'm very happy because it's my first time to compete on such a big stage," Chebet said.
"I thank my coaches who have instilled discipline in me, enabling me to win."
Wesley Botton for the IAAF

Taking advantage of her compatriot's error, Kenya’s Caren Chebet charged to victory at the IAAF World U18 Championships Nairobi 2017 on Friday (14), winning the gold medal in a dramatic girls' 2000m steeplechase final.

Report: girls' 2000m steeplechase – IAAF World U18 Championships Nairobi 2017

An event in which Kenya essentially holds a monopoly, it will come as a major surprise if they fail to take gold, and silver, when they settle down to fight it out in the last individual event on the programme on Sunday evening (16).
Pressure will be high for their duo, Leonard Kipkemoi Bett and Cleophas Kandie Meyan, though they appear to hold a considerable advantage over their rivals, at least on paper. Bett is the national champion, having taken victory over Meyan at their U18 trials in Nairobi last month, 5:28.52 to 5:30.04.
Little is known about their rivals from Ethiopia, though given the vest they&rsquo;ll be donning we can rest assured that Alemu Kitessa Muleta and Girma Diriba Kejela will mount a strong challenge to the Kenyans.
Of the others, South Africa&rsquo;s Robert De Villiers is the quickest to date, with a 5:48.06 clocking to his name, while Moroccan duo Ayoub Basraoui and Hamza Sekhmani have both run 5:52 this year and should be in the hunt for the minor medals.
Cathal Dennehy for the IAAF

An event in which Kenya essentially holds a monopoly, it will come as a major surprise if they fail to take gold, and silver, when they settle down to fight it out in the last individual event on the programme on Sunday evening (16).

Preview: boys' 2000m steeplechase – IAAF World U18 Championships Nairobi 2017

Sticking with tradition, the middle-distance race over the barriers is again tipped to be an all-east African affair.
With African countries having swept the podium at the past four editions of the biennial championships, Kenya and Ethiopia should again lead the charge.
After winning the past three world U18 titles in the discipline, the host nation will again carry the favourites' tag into the final. They will be represented by Caren Chebet (6:19.50) and Mercy Chepkirui (6:19.70), the two fastest U18 girls in the world this season.
They will face an anticipated battle, however, from the Ethiopian duo of Ethlemahu Sintayehu Dessi (6:30.84) and Betelihem Mulat Desta (6:33.35) who should put up a fight for the podium places.
European youth champion Anna Mark Helwigh will also be hoping to get among the medals.
Wesley Botton for the IAAF

Sticking with tradition, the middle-distance race over the barriers is again tipped to be an all-east African affair.

Preview: girls' 2000m steeplechase – IAAF World U18 Championships Nairobi 2017

With another championship record, another world youth best and her second gold medal of the week, Candace Hill cemented her status as the star of the IAAF World Youth Championships, Cali 2015 which concluded after five days of thrilling competition on Sunday (19). The 16-year-old from Georgia powered from her blocks in the girls&rsquo; 200m final and though she had US team-mate Lauren Rain Williams for company as she turned into the home straight, Hill soon showed why she is being widely touted as the future of women's sprinting and drew well clear to win in 22.43, obliterating her previous best of 23.05. &ldquo;I had a great start and when I got into the home straight, I just gave it all I had,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I thought I&rsquo;d just run a 22.9 but 22.4 is way above what I expected.&rdquo;Silver medallist Williams also set a personal best in second, her time of 22.90 actually faster than every winning time in the 16-year history of these championships. Shortly after Hill completed her 100m/200m double, Abdul Hakim Sani Brown of Japan took to the track and emulated her achievement with an imperious performance in the boys&rsquo; 200m, his winning time of 20.34 taking 0.06 off Usain Bolt&rsquo;s championship record. Drawn in lane six, the 16-year-old flew from the blocks and led coming into the home straight, with South Africa&rsquo;s Kyle Appel his closest pursuer. Just like in the 100m earlier in the week, no one could get close to Sani Brown on the final run to the line and the Tokyo schoolboy came home a clear winner ahead of Appel (20.57) and 400m silver medallist Josephus Lyles of the USA (20.74), who also set personal bests. &ldquo;Two times gold in Cali is what I expected,&rdquo; said Sani Brown. &ldquo;I want to do so much more, win Olympic gold and set the world record. Cali was a big step to do that.&rdquo;<h3>Eight golds for USA</h3>The USA unsurprisingly topped the medal table in Cali, doing so with a record medal haul. They won their eighth gold medal of the week in the final event, the mixed 4x400m relay, which was making its debut at these championships. The quartets were comprised of two boys and two girls, with teams allowed to decide the running order. Only the USA and Canada used the boy-girl-boy-girl strategy, and wound up taking the gold and bronze medals. The US quartet of Keshun Reed, Lynna Irby, Norman Grimes and Samantha Watson were never truly threatened during the race, Watson bringing them home to a decisive victory in 3:19.54. South Africa&rsquo;s Kyle Appel, having blasted through the first 200 metres of his anchor leg, found himself in a head-to-head, battle-of-the-sexes duel with Canada&rsquo;s Kyra Constantine for the silver medal. He edged it, just, to grab the silver medal for South Africa, with both teams credited with the same 3:23.60.In the girls&rsquo; 800m, little more than a hour before the relay, Watson produced a performance of superb tactical awareness, taking victory in a personal best of 2:03.54. The 15-year-old sheltered behind Ethiopia&rsquo;s Foziyu Niguse and Italy&rsquo;s Marta Zenoni on the first lap before sweeping into the lead and unleashing a potent kick with 200 metres to go, building a lead that Zenoni and Ethiopia&rsquo;s other runner, Gadese Ejara, simply couldn&rsquo;t close.Ejara also ran a PB of 2:03.54 in second while Zenoni finished third in 2:04.15. &ldquo;It was a very hard race,&rdquo; said Watson. &ldquo;I had to fight a lot.&rdquo;<h3>Botha surprises in the javelin</h3>The shocks continued in the boys&rsquo; javelin, in which South Africa&rsquo;s Paul Jacobus Botha sprung a major surprise on event favourite Niklas Kaul, adding almost four metres to his lifetime best with his winning throw of 78.49m. Kaul, who had propelled himself to gold in the boys&rsquo; decathlon earlier in the week with a massive javelin throw, had to settle for silver this time, his best effort of 78.06m coming in the first round. &ldquo;I knew what I had come here for and it&rsquo;s amazing to win gold,&rdquo; said Botha. &ldquo;The crowd was incredible and I want to thank everyone.&rdquo;&ldquo;I felt good in my first attempt,&rdquo; said Kaul, &ldquo;but then I felt the exhaustion from my decathlon effort. I&rsquo;m happy with gold and silver here in Cali.&rdquo;The girls&rsquo; long jump title went to the USA&rsquo;s Tara Davis, whose final-round effort of 6.41m was more than enough to secure gold ahead of Kaiza Karlen of Sweden.Karlen led for much of the competition after her 6.24m jump in the second round, which was a 17-centimetre improvement on her personal best. However, Davis took the lead with a 6.24m effort in the fifth round, which she improved again to 6.41m on her last attempt. &ldquo;I knew it was a big jump,&rdquo; she said, &ldquo;but I didn&rsquo;t think it was that far.&rdquo; Three centimetres covered the next five girls but the bronze medal went to Maja Bedrac of Slovenia with 6.22m. Sweden&rsquo;s Armand Duplantis won the boys&rsquo; pole vault, his winning clearance of 5.30m a championship record which brought a sizeable and extremely vocal Colombian crowd to its feet in celebration. The final came down to a duel between Duplantis and Ukraine&rsquo;s Vladyslav Malykhin, who also cleared 5.30m but was beaten on countback due to only clearing 5.25m on his second attempt.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s great to have won the gold medal,&rdquo; said Duplantis. &ldquo;I expected a hard battle and I had it. I&rsquo;m happy I had somebody to push me.&rdquo;The boys&rsquo; 3000m produced one of the most exciting finishes of the week, with Kenya&rsquo;s Richard Yator Kimunyan unleashing a 55-second last lap and just managing to edge out his team-mate Davis Kiplangat and Ethiopia&rsquo;s Tefera Mosisa in a three-way tussle down the home straight, his time of 7:54.45 giving him the win by just 0.07.&ldquo;The race was not too hard for me,&rdquo; said Kimunyan. &ldquo;The finish was very fast and I was strong. It&rsquo;s great for Kenya, because my colleagues are used to winning.&rdquo;There was more joy for Kenya in the boys&rsquo; 2000m steeplechase, with Vincent Kipyegon Ruto taking victory in 5:27.58 after an aggressive display of front-running. The 16-year-old&rsquo;s win ensured the gold medal made its way back to Kenya for the seventh time in the nine editions of these championships. Ethiopia&rsquo;s Wogene Sebisibe took the silver medal with a personal best of 5:29.41, while Kenya&rsquo;s Geofrey Rotich was third in 5:30.16. &ldquo;The wind was a small problem but I still produced my best,&rdquo; said Ruto. &ldquo;I always expected this victory.&rdquo;Cathal Dennehy for the IAAF

With another championship record, another world youth best and her second gold medal of the week, Candace Hill cemented her status as the star of the IAAF World Youth Championships, Cali 2015 which concluded after five days of thrilling competition on Sunday (19). 

Hill gets 200m world youth best, Sani Brown also takes sprint double in Cali

Kenya reclaimed this title from Ethiopia courtesy of a richly deserved aggressive front-running display by Vincent Kipyegon Ruto, who won in 5:27.58 on Sunday (19).The diminutive Kenyan simply ran the legs off Youth Olympic champion Wogene Sebsibe to ensure Kenya would bank gold in this event for the seventh time in nine editions of the IAAF World Youth Championships.It only took 500 metres for the two Kenyans, Ruto and Geofrey Rotich, and the Ethiopian pair of Sebisibe and Tegenu Mengistu to open up a clear advantage on the rest of the field; or should that be the rest of the world, as the final predictably formed into two separate races.Ruto, the Kenyan youth champion, willingly hammered out the pace at the front with Mengistu the first of the leading contenders to raise the white flag, sliding off the back of the lead group as the leader hit 1000m in a rapid 2:43.03.With two laps remaining, Rotich was the next to find the pace too hot to handle as the battle for the gold medal formed into a two-way fight. Sebisibe, who had finished two places in front of Ruto when winning silver in the 3000m steeplechase at the African Junior Championships in March, was happy to track Ruto.However, the Kenyan&rsquo;s searing pace coupled with his greater technical proficiency over the barriers was to prove Sebisibe&rsquo;s undoing. Down the back stretch on the final lap the business-like Ruto &ndash; all pumping arms and legs &ndash; had opened up a decisive gap from which the Ethiopian, who was conceding significant ground over most hurdles, could not recover.Ruto could bask in the glow of likely victory over the last half lap and secured gold with a winning time just a fraction outside of his lifetime best set at the Kenyan Youth Championships in Nairobi last month. The fading Sebisibe was briefly challenged as the re-energised Rotich sniffed a potential silver medal, but the Ethiopian had enough in reserve to take second spot by 0.75 in 5:29.41. Seven boys in the field set personal best times, including every finisher from second to sixth. &ldquo;The wind was a small problem during the race but I still produced my best performance,&rdquo; said a delighted Ruto. &ldquo;I always expected this victory.&rdquo;Steve Landells for the IAAF

Kenya reclaimed this title from Ethiopia courtesy of a richly deserved aggressive front-running display by Vincent Kipyegon Ruto, who won in 5:27.58 on Sunday (19).

Boys' 2000m steeplechase – IAAF World Youth Championships, Cali 2015

On an unforgettable day for global 1500m running, Kumari Taki ensured day three of the IAAF World Youth Championships, Cali 2015 would also be ignited by a stellar metric mile performance as he smashed the boys&rsquo; championship record courtesy of a bold front-running display on Friday (17).The 16-year-old Kenyan took the lead from the outset with only his countryman Lawi Kosgei prepared to go with the searing pace set by the stick-thin Taki. With 600 metres remaining, the leader kicked clear of Kosgei and then simply put on a demonstration of his outstanding middle-distance staying power.He crossed the line in a personal best of 3:36.38 to trim 0.39 from Robert Biwott&rsquo;s championship record and claim Kenyan&rsquo;s seventh success in nine editions of the event at these championships.Playing an astute tactical game, Ethiopia&rsquo;s Mulugeta Assefa benefited from a more conservative approach than Kosgei to catch and pass the fading Kenyan in the latter stages to take silver by 0.33 in a personal best of 3:41.33.&nbsp;&nbsp; A naturally elated Taki, who climbed to number 10 on the world youth all-time list, said of his first performance outside of Africa: &ldquo;It was amazing to improve my personal best and set a championship record. I hope to compete more on the international level. It is a wonderful success.&rdquo;Elsewhere, on a busy night of eight finals inside the Pascual Guerrero Stadium, Jamaica&rsquo;s Christopher Taylor produced an outstanding performance to come within 0.13 of the world youth best en route to gold in the boys&rsquo; 400m.The 15-year-old belied his tender age to hold off the double-pronged challenge from the USA to strengthen his grip on number six on the all-time lists after flashing past the line in 45.27. It is the fastest time ever by a 15-year-old and eclipses his own time of 45.30 from the semi-finals, having arrived at the championships with a best of 45.55.Taylor stands one place ahead of Usain Bolt on the world youth all-time 400m list andcame within 0.03 of Kirani James&rsquo; championship record. Behind Taylor, Josephus Lyles &ndash; brother of Youth Olympic 200m champion Noah &ndash; took silver in a personal best of 45.46 as his compatriot Keshun Reed took bronze in 45.96.There was to be disappointment for the home fans as Colombian hope Anthony Jose Zambrano &ndash; such an eye-catching winner in Thursday&rsquo;s semi-final &ndash; had to settle for seventh in 46.57. <h3>Piskunov hammers championship record</h3>The outstanding performance in the field came in the boys&rsquo; hammer final as Ukraine&rsquo;s Hlib Piskunov posted a championship record of 84.91m.The display solidified last year&rsquo;s Youth Olympic Games champion as number four on the world youth all-time list and as a further measure of his superiority, he produced four throws in excess of 80 metres: the four longest of the competition.Ukraine also earned silver courtesy of a PB by Mykhailo Havryliuk with 78.93m.In the girls' 400m, Salwa Eid Naser claimed a memorable win for Bahrain with a well-judged tactical race to strike gold in a world-youth-leading time of 51.50, which was also a personal best.The Youth Olympic Games silver medallist, who has spent valuable training time preparing for the race in Bulgaria, was significantly adrift of USA's Lynna Irby at the halfway mark.&nbsp; However, Naser kicked hard around the second bend and was too strong down the home stretch for the fading Irby, who finished 0.29 in arrears to claim silver.Predictably, Kenya claimed a second successive 1-2 in the girls&rsquo; 2000m steeplechase at the World Youth Championships with an utterly dominant display. Celliphine Chepteek Chespol&rsquo;s superior technique played its part in her success from her countrywoman Sandrafelis Chebet Tuei. With the pair battling it out for gold at the penultimate water barrier, Tuei&rsquo;s unorthodox technique of hurdling the obstacle and landing on both feet proved her undoing. She lost 10 metres in the process and although she made up ground on her compatriot between barriers, Chespol was always able to keep her at arms length to win by more than two seconds in 6:17.15 &ndash; a time which was to elevate her to eighth on the world youth all-time list.<h3>Ngo goes from no-hoper to gold</h3>Matteo Ngo kept his head in a mistake-riddled race to claim a shock win for France in the boys&rsquo; 110m hurdles. Ngo had squeaked into the final as one of the two non-automatic qualifiers and, running from the inside lane, few would have fancied his chances of taking the crown.Yet after Isaiah Lucas of the USA clattered through hurdle seven and lost crucial momentum, it was Ngo who maintained his composure best to edge the win in 13.53.In a blanket finish, Canada&rsquo;s Joseph Daniels and Lucas picked up silver and bronze respectively, both 0.01 behind. In fact only 0.04 separated the first six athletes.Cuba strengthened their hold on the boys&rsquo; horizontal jumps here in Cali as pre-event favourite Christian Atanay Napoles added the triple jump title tonight to the boys&rsquo; long jump crown collected by Maykel Demetrio Masso the previous night. A first-round leap of 16.13m helped Napoles secure the gold from China&rsquo;s Du Mingze, who set a personal best of 16.02m for silver. Cuba also banked bronze courtesy of a 15.70m effort from Julio Cesar Carbonell. The gold medal was just reward for the impressive Napoles, who had produced seven of the nine farthest leaps by a youth in the world this year prior to tonight&rsquo;s final.&nbsp; Michaela Hruba was one of the biggest pre-event favourites here in Cali and the Czech girl lived up to her billing to win the high jump title by a record margin of eight centimetres with a best effort of 1.90m. Second-time clearances at 1.85m and 1.90m demonstrated Hruba&rsquo;s dominance as the 17-year-old added another global medal to the world junior silver she took last year. Steve Landells for the IAAF

On an unforgettable day for global 1500m running, Kumari Taki ensured day three of the IAAF World Youth Championships, Cali 2015 would also be ignited by a stellar metric mile performance as he smashed the boys’ championship record courtesy of a bold front-running display on Friday (17).

Championship records for Taki and Piskunov in Cali

When it comes to the steeplechase, it&rsquo;s sometimes simply impossible to beat the Kenyans, and so it proved once again at the IAAF World Youth Championships, Cali 2015 on Friday night (17) as Celliphine Chepteek Chespol and Sandrafelis Chebet Tuei routed the field to take a 1-2 for their nation for the second consecutive time at the championships. In the end, it was Chespol who secured the victory in a personal best of 6:17.15 ahead of Tuei, who was second in 6:19.61, with a lengthy gap back to Ethiopia&rsquo;s Agrie Belachew in third with 6:34.68.&ldquo;It was hard, but I gave 100 percent,&rdquo; said Chespol afterwards. &nbsp;Indeed, from the moment the gun fired to set the field on their way, the Kenyan duo set off at full throttle and they rarely relented thereafter. Tuei led through the opening lap with Chespol nestled in her slipstream and by the time they had passed 400m, the rest of the field were already 30 metres in arrears. Leading the charge from behind through the opening two laps was Hungary&rsquo;s Lili Toth, who had just Ethiopians Beletu Hailu and Belachew for company. <h3>No respite for the rest</h3>At the front, the pace was searing, with Chespol taking over the lead after two laps and going through 1000m in 2:57.75. Unsurprisingly, Hungary&rsquo;s Lili Toth and the Ethiopian pair were already 70 metres behind at that point, a gap that continued to grow over the closing laps. As Chespol and Tuei approached the water jump together for the penultimate time with 550 metres to run, the gold medal was still all to play for, but Tuei&rsquo;s unorthodox technique &ndash; which saw her hurdle the barrier and land with both feet &ndash; proved her eventual downfall. Tuei planted with both feet in the water on landing, lost her footing and stumbled forward, allowing her team-mate to open a 10-metre lead. Though she continually closed that gap between barriers over the final lap, Chespol&rsquo;s superior hurdling technique constantly kept her team-mate at arm&rsquo;s length and in the end, she came home a worthy winner in 6:17.15, with Tuei two seconds behind. &ldquo;I have never competed outside Kenya before so this is my first big victory,&rdquo; said Chespol.Behind the Kenyan duo, the battle for bronze was won by Belachew, who came home in 6:34.68.Toth, who had been so brave during the early laps in trying to chase the Kenyans, eventually paid for her exertions and faded rapidly over the closing laps to finish 11th. Cathal Dennehy for the IAAF

When it comes to the steeplechase, it’s sometimes simply impossible to beat the Kenyans, and so it proved once again at the IAAF World Youth Championships, Cali 2015 on Friday night (17) as Celliphine Chepteek Chespol and Sandrafelis Chebet Tuei routed the field to take a 1-2 for their nation for the second consecutive time at the championships. 

Girls' 2000m steeplechase – IAAF World Youth Championships, Cali 2015

After a thrilling end to the decathlon on Thursday, it was the turn of the girls&rsquo;combined event exponents to start going through their paces at the IAAF World Youth Championships, Cali 2015 and, slightly surprisingly, it was Germany&rsquo;s Lisa Maihofer who led the way after two events in the heptathlon on Friday morning (17).Maihofer, from the town of Bargau just east of Stuttgart, made an impressive start and took 0.24 off her 100m hurdles best with a time of 13.69 in the opening event of the morning. She then cleared 1.79m in the high jump, one of three girls to do so, although she was slightly disappointed not to get over the next height of 1.82m as she has recently raised her personal best to 1.84mHer two-event tally of 1989 points put her 38 ahead of Cuba&rsquo;s Adriana Rodriguez, who was the fastest girl in the hurdles with a personal best of 13.43 before going over 1.73m in the high jump.Surprisingly, the two favourites for the heptathlon languish a long way down the overall standings at this stage, Austria&rsquo;s Sarah Lagger is eighth and Ukraine&rsquo;s Alina Shukh is 15th. First Lagger and then Shukh have revised the girls&rsquo; heptathlon world best this summer.Wictor Petersson has already got one medal to his name from these championships after winning the shot put bronze and the Swedish thrower looks a good bet to leave with another after hurling the discus out to a personal best of 64.83m in the qualifying rounds.Only one boy, South Africa&rsquo;s Werner Visser, has thrown farther this year and he was the next best in qualifying with 61.93m.<h3>Williams serene and swift</h3>After the girls&rsquo; 100m on Thursday night, several of the main protagonists quickly returned to the track to contest this morning&rsquo;s 200m first round.However US sprinter Lauren Rain Williams didn&rsquo;t contest the shorter distance and her freshness showed as she sped to the fastest time over what her compatriots like to call the furlong, winning her heat impressively in 23.41 into a -1.1m/s breeze.The next best was France&rsquo;s Estelle Raffai, a full half-a-second slower in 23.91.Williams&rsquo; compatriot and 100m winner Candace Hill was third fastest when winning her heat in 23.93, although she admitted that despite the lack of celebrating and the necessity of quickly getting back to business on the track, she was still tired following the euphoria of her 100m victory.South Africa&rsquo;s Tlotlise Gift Leotela was the fastest in the boys' 200m first round, winning the last of eight heats in 20.82.However, also qualifying comfortably by winning their heats were the 100m gold and silver medallists, Japan&rsquo;s Abdul Hakim Sani Brown and Brazil&rsquo;s Derick Silva, running 21.19 and 21.07 respectively.Typically, the qualifiers in the boys&rsquo; 2000m steeplechase were led by runners from Kenya and Ethiopia.Wogene Sebisibe was an impressive winner of the faster second heat, the Ethiopian winning in a personal best of 5:31.31 and coming home just ahead of his Kenyan rival Geoffrey Rotich, who was second in 5:32.00.The finish was a reverse of the positions in the first heat won by Kenya&rsquo;s Vincent Kipyegon Ruto, who won in 5:34.52 with Ethiopia&rsquo;s Tegenu Mengistu a rather distant second in a personal best of 5:42.01.Romania&rsquo;s Georgina Iuliana Anitei established her medal credentials when she bounded out to 13.33m on her first attempt to lead the girls&rsquo; triple jump qualifiers.Phil Minshull for the IAAF

After a thrilling end to the decathlon on Thursday, it was the turn of the girls’ combined event exponents to start going through their paces at the IAAF World Youth Championships, Cali 2015 and, slightly surprisingly, it was Germany’s Lisa Maihofer who led the way after two events in the heptathlon on Friday morning (17).

Maihofer leads heptathlon in Cali, Williams and Petersson impress in qualifiers

Kenya has won this title at the past two IAAF World Youth Championships and in Sandra Felis Chebet, they have an athlete who looks capable of making it three in a row for the proud steeplechasing nation.
Chebet holds three of the four fastest times in the world for a girl, her best effort of 6:16.19 coming at the Kenyan Youth Championships in Nairobi last month. That run puts her eight seconds clear of her closest rival in Cali, Celphine Cheptoek Chespot, who is Kenya&rsquo;s second representative.
If anyone is to upset the Kenyan pair, then the Ethiopian trio of Agrie Belachew, Beletu Hailu and Asimarech Naga appear to hold the best chance.
Belachew came out on top at their trials in Addis Ababa in May, running 6:32.80, just ahead of Hailu (6:33.22) and Naga (6:33.75), although only two will run in Cali.
Of the non-Africans, Puerto Rico&rsquo;s Alondra Negron, Belarus&rsquo;s Tatsiana Shabanava and Hungary&rsquo;s Lili Toth have all run 6:40 or quicker this year and look the strongest entries on paper.
Cathal Dennehy for the IAAF

Kenya has won this title at the last two IAAF World Youth Championships and in Sandra Felis Chebet, they have an athlete who looks capable of making it three-in-a-row for the proud steeplechasing nation. 

Girls' 2000m steeplechase preview – IAAF World Youth Championships Cali 2015

This event served up one of the highlights of the previous edition of the IAAF World Youth Championships in Donetsk as Ethiopia&rsquo;s Meresa Kahsay edged Kenya&rsquo;s Nicholas Kiptanui Bett in a thrilling race over the final lap in Donetsk with the pair recording the fastest two youth times in history.
Two years on and the battle is once again predictably expected to be between Kenya and Ethiopia as athletes from those two endurance powerhouses dominate the world lists.
Leading the way is Vincent Kipyegon Ruto, who ran an impressive time of 5:27.17 en route to victory at the Kenyan world youth championships trials.
He will be supported by Geofrey Rotich, who finished runner-up to Ruto in that race in 5:30.59.
A big danger to these two could be Youth Olympic Games champion Wogene Sebisibe. The Ethiopian has a season&rsquo;s best of 5:37.72 but won the silver medal &ndash; two places ahead of Ruto &ndash; at the African Junior Championships 3000m steeplechase in Addis Ababa back in March.
Steve Landells for the IAAF

This event served up one of the highlights of the previous edition of the IAAF World Youth Championships in Donetsk as Ethiopia’s Meresa Kahsay edged Kenya’s Nicholas Kiptanui Bett in a thrilling race over the final lap in Donetsk with the pair recording the fastest two youth times in history.

Boys' 2000m steeplechase preview – IAAF World Youth Championships Cali 2015

Emily and Sandra Chebet are among the many medal contenders on Kenya&rsquo;s team for the IAAF World Youth Championships, Cali 2015.Following their respective victories in the 3000m and 2000m steeplechase at the African Youth Championships in Reduit earlier this year, Emily and Sandra confirmed their spot on the Kenyan team after winning their events at the recent World Youth Championships Trials in Nairobi.Both athletes currently top the world youth lists. Emily clocked a world-youth-leading 9:08.8 in the 3000m at the trials event, while Sandra&rsquo;s 2000m steeplechase best of 6:20.47 came at the African Youth Championships.All four of Kenya&rsquo;s African youth champions in the boys&rsquo; middle-distance events also feature on the team.Kipyegon Bett took gold in the 800m in Reduit earlier this year, but he was beaten at the Kenyan trials by newcomer Willy Tarbei. In a close race, both athletes smashed their PBs, clocking 1:44.51 and 1:44.55 to move into the top five on the world youth all-time list and securing their spot on the team for Cali.The other African youth champions on the team are 1500m runner Kumari Taki, 3000m world youth leader Davies Kiplangat and steeplechaser Vincent Kipyegon.Since the IAAF World Youth Championships began in 1999, Kenya has finished in the top two on the medals table at all but one edition. Their best overall performance came in 2009 when they topped the table with six gold medals, seven silver and one bronze.IAAF<h3>Kenyan team for Cali 2105</h3>BOYS 200m: Aaron Kimutai, Mackson Sirere 400m: Edwin Ngeeti, Josphat Kipngetich Ngeno 800m: Kipyegon Bett, Willy Tarbei 1500m: Lawi Koskei, Kumari Taki 3000m: Davies Kiplanagat, Richard Kumunyan Yator 2000m steeplechase: Vincent Kipyegon Ruto, Geofrey Rotich 400m hurdles: Nicholas Chirchir, Emmanuel Kipyegon Long jump: Edward KiplimoGIRLS 400m: Purity Joy Chepkoech, Jane Njoki Theuri 800m: Betty Chepkemoi, Mary Kalakye 1500m: Joyline Cherotich, Janeth Jepngetich 3000m: Emily Chebet, Sheila Chelangat 2000m steeplechase: Sandra Chebet, Celphine Chepteek Chespol

Emily and Sandra Chebet are among the many medal contenders on Kenya’s team for the IAAF World Youth Championships, Cali 2015.