Timothy Cheruiyot at a previous race/ HANDOUTThe 2019 world 1,500m champion Timothy Cheruiyot is set to make his maiden global appearance over the 5,000m on Saturday, spearheading Kenya’s charge at the Xiamen Diamond League.
Having long ruled the metric mile, Cheruiyot revealed earlier this season that he was ready to stretch his range and venture into the longer distance. “Because I have been in the 1,500m for a long time, maybe this year I will try to test my legs on the 5,000m to see how it will go,” Cheruiyot said in an earlier interview.
The 30-year-old’s only previous outing over the 5,000m dates back to 2020 during an Athletics Kenya meeting at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, where he clocked 13:47.2 for ninth place.
Cheruiyot heads into the Xiamen showdown also hunting for his first Diamond League victory of the season after narrowly missing the podium last weekend in Shanghai.
In that outing, he lined up in the 3,000m, clocking 7:27.24 to finish fourth. Germany’s Mohamed Abdilaahi stormed to victory in 7:25.77, while Reynold Cheruiyot (7:26.11) and Sweden’s Andreas Almgren (7:26.48) rounded off the podium.
The Shanghai race marked Cheruiyot’s second appearance over 3,000m, his previous attempt having come at the 2023 Doha Diamond League, where he timed 7:36.72 to place fifth. That race saw Ethiopians sweep the podium, led by Lamecha Girma in 7:26.18, ahead of Selemon Barega (7:27.16) and Berihu Aregawi (7:27.61).
Further boosting confidence, Cheruiyot travels to Xiamen on the back of a promising 2026 campaign. He opened his season with a third-place finish in the men’s 2km race at the Sirikwa Classic Cross Country Tour on February 14, clocking 5:54 behind Reynold (5:52) and Daniel Munguti (5:53).
His first track appearance followed at the Kip Keino Classic on April 24, where he faded to sixth in 3:38.16. World and Olympic 800m champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi claimed victory in 3:34.11, with Reynold (3:34.73) and Munguti (3:36.21) finishing second and third respectively.
Cheruiyot, however, bounced back emphatically at the Kenya Prisons Track and Field Championships held on May 8-9 at the Ulinzi Sports Complex, producing a commanding display to win the 1,500m and settle for second in the 800m. In the 1,500m, he timed 3:48.7 to edge out Obadiah Kipletting (3:48.9) and Kipngetich Ng’eno (3:49.1) in a tightly contested finish.
Over two laps, Cheruiyot clocked 1:50.1 to finish behind Ng’eno, who won in 1:49.3 while Aaron Cheminingwa crossed third in 1:50.5. In Xiamen, Cheruiyot will be joined by Cornelius Kemboi, a proven 5,000m specialist who arrives fresh from victory at the Kip Keino Classic in 13:09.31. Olympic 5,000m silver medallist Edwin Kurgat, alongside Boaz Kiprugut and Mathew Kipsang, also bolster the Kenyan contingent.
But the Kenyans face a stern examination from a stacked international field led by Germany’s Abdilaahi, who is chasing back-to-back Diamond League triumphs after his winning run in Shanghai.
