Kenya’s Faith Cherotich overhauled reigning champion Winfred Yavi on the last lap to win women’s 3,000m steeplechase gold at the Tokyo World Athletics Championships on Wednesday.

The talented 21-year-old nailed a hurdle that Bahrain’s Yavi stumbled over on the final run down the back straight, and soared over the last water jump to finish in eight minutes 51.59 seconds, the fastest ever time at a world championships.

Kenyan-born Olympic champion Yavi took silver in 8:56.46, while bronze went to Ethiopia’s Sembo Almayew in a personal best time of 8:58.86.

Uganda’s Peruth Chemutai, who won Olympic gold at the National Stadium in 2021 and silver in Paris, failed to finish after a fall at a hurdle towards the end of the race. Meanwhile, Kenya’s Julius Yego qualified for the men’s javelin final after throwing a season’s best of 85.96m in his first attempt at the championships in Tokyo.

The throw saw him cross the automatic qualifying mark of 84.50m.

Yego, a five-time African champion, is eager to reclaim the world javelin title he last won in 2015 after progressing into the final at the ongoing Tokyo World Championships.