Kenya will have two runners in the men’s 1,500m final after Brian Komen and Timothy Cheruiyot squeezed in after coming close to missing out.
Brian Komen sealed his place in the men’s 1,500m final following a lung-bursting run in the semi-finals at the Paris Olympics on Sunday.
In the opening heat that had Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway and world champion Josh Kerr of Great Britain, the Kenyan contingent of Komen and Reynold Cheruiyot had their work cut out.
The Norwegian took command of the race from the second lap and never relinquished it as Kerr stayed hot on his heels.
The duo would split the field heading into the final lap and it forced Komen to improve his speed to make it into the top six that qualified for the final.
Ingebrigtsen won the heat in 3:32.38 with Kerr second in 3:32.46 with American Cole Hocker (3:32.54) in third as Komen managed fourth in 3:32.57.
Reynold Cheruiyot missed out on a place in the final after 10th place finish.
In the second heat, Olympic silver medallist Timothy Cheruiyot managed to squeeze into the final after coming close to missing out.
The 2019 world champion had to do a lot in the final 100m to get into the top six as he finished fifth to qualify.
