Faith Kipyegon, the Olympic Champion, Wins Heat 2 of the Women's 1,500m
Faith Kipyegon, the double Olympic champion, easily cruised into the women's 1500m semi-final at the World Championships in Eugene Saturday morning, winning her heat in 4:04.53.
Leah Mukangai 
Kipyegon took command of the race in the final two laps after playing second fiddle to Japanese Nozomoi Tanaka, who carefully calculated her kicks.
At the start, the Kenyan, who is attempting to reclaim the title she lost in 2019, moved to the front of the pack, with Australian Jessica Hull and Ethiopia's Freweyni Hailu chasing her.
Kipyegon slowed her pace, and even in jogging form, none of the pursuers could catch up to her.
Hull came in second in 4:04.68 and Hailu came in third in 4:04.85.
Meanwhile, African champion Winnie Chebet automatically qualified after finishing second in her heat. Chebet moved from fifth to second after running on the outside in the final 50m to easily qualify for the semi-finals tomorrow.
She ran a season-best 4:03.12, finishing second to Ethiopia's Gudaf Tsegay, who ran 4:02.68.
On the other hand, Kenyan sprinter Ferdinand Omanyala finished third in his heat, won by Japan's Sami Brown in 9:98, with New Zealand's Edward Osei Nketia finishing second in 10:08.
Kenyan sprinter Ferdinand Omanyala. PHOTO FILE
Omanyala had only two hours to recover from jet lag and warm up.
He also had to prepare for his heat after a visa delay caused him to leave the country on Thursday night for a 22-hour flight through Dubai, Seattle, and Oregon.
The semi-finals and final will take place on Sunday morning.
