Arch-rivals Beatrice Chepkoech & Winfred Yavi confirmed for Prefontaine Classic

12th April 2024

The 2024 Prefontaine Classic will be held on May 25 in Eugene, United States.

Beatrice Chepkoech and Winfred Yavi compete in the Women's 3000m Steeplechase during the 2023 Prefontaine Classic and Wanda Diamond League Final. PHOTO| AFP
Beatrice Chepkoech and Winfred Yavi compete in the Women's 3000m Steeplechase during the 2023 Prefontaine Classic and Wanda Diamond League Final. PHOTO| AFP
SUMMARY
  • Yavi, who hails from Kitui County, is the reigning 3000m steeplechase world champion.
  • She goes into the race as favourite ahead of record holder Chepkoech.
  • Elsewhere, Mary Moraa is another Kenyan runner who has been confirmed for the Prefontaine Classic so far.

Familiar foes Winfred Yavi and Beatrice Chepkoech are set to square it out at the 2024 Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, United States.

The Kenyan-born duo are the latest inclusions in the event which is scheduled to take place on Saturday, May 25.

Chepkoech will use the race to gauge herself with less than four months remaining before the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, where she is seeking to win the Olympic Games gold medal for the first time in her remarkable career.

Speaking to SportPesa News earlier this year, the Kamung’ei High School product divulged that she was trying to improve on her main weakness in order to stand a good chance of bagging the elusive medal.

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"Actually I am looking for speed endurance. The season is still fresh, so I am working on my speed," she noted.

Yavi, who switched her allegiance to Bahrain several years ago, goes into the clash as the favorite having overcome Chepkoech in most of the races during the 2023 Season.

The 24-year-old clocked a world-leading time of 8:54.29 to beat the latter to the World Athletics Championships crown in August last year.

Chepkoech, who currently holds the world record of 8:44.32, settled for a second-place position ahead of the fast-rising Faith Cherotich from Kenya.

The Kenya Police runner crossed the finishing line in a season-best time of 8:58.98 while Cherotich clocked a lifetime best of 9:00.69.

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At the much-awaited Prefontaine Classic, Chepkoech and Yavi will face off with the likes of home girl Courtney Wayment-Smith.

Wayment-Smith is a 3-time National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCCA) indoor champion. The 25-year-old heads to the Prefontaine Classic with a personal best of 9:09.91 which she set at the Monaco Diamond League on August 10, 2022.

Besides Chepkoech, another Kenyan runner who has been confirmed for the Prefontaine Classic is the reigning 800m world champion Mary Moraa.

Moraa will compete with the likes of Athing Mu, and Uganda’s Nakaayi Halimah in the eagerly anticipated two-lap showdown.

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