Kenya’s Faith Cherotich stunned reigning world and Olympic champion Winfred Yavi to clinch the women’s 3000m steeplechase title at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Wednesday, September 17.

The 21-year-old, a bronze medallist at both the 2024 Olympics and last year’s World Championships, stayed close behind Yavi for most of the race before launching a decisive kick with 200m remaining. She powered over the final water jump and surged into the lead.

Cherotich crossed the line in a championship record of 8:51.59, nearly five seconds ahead of Yavi (8:56.46), while Ethiopia’s Sembo Almayew claimed bronze in a personal best of 8:58.86.

Popularly known as Kadogo, Cherotich previously bagged bronze at both the 2024 Olympics and the previous World Championships.

Her victory handed Kenya its fourth gold medal at the championships, firmly establishing her as one of the sport’s brightest emerging talents. Further, her new World Championships best reinforces her authority in a race historically dominated by Kenyans.

By claiming the title in Tokyo, Cherotich not only became a world champion for the first time but also carved her place in Kenya’s rich tradition of middle- and long-distance success.

Following this was another major race, the men’s 1500m final, where Kenya’s Reynold Cheruiyot took bronze at a time of 3:34.25.

Isaac Nader of Portugal, however, stunned the field to clinch the men’s 1500m title at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, pulling off a perfectly timed finish in 3:34.10 and extending the run of unexpected upsets in men’s distance races at these games.

The early spotlight was on defending champion Josh Kerr (Great Britain) and rising star Niels Laros (the Netherlands), but Kerr’s campaign collapsed on the penultimate lap after an apparent Achilles injury forced him to drop out of contention.

Laros pressed on alongside a loaded field featuring Nader, 2019 world champion Timothy Cheruiyot (Kenya), 2022 world champion Jake Wightman (Great Britain), and Reynold Cheruiyot.

Wightman surged to the front with 200m to go and looked set for victory, only for Nader to burst through in the final strides and edge him by 0.02 seconds in a dramatic finish.