Chekwemoi, Nakaayi to compete at Doha Diamond League meet

Race Time | Friday, May 10

Women’s 800m – 7:13pm

Women’s 5000m – 7:55pm

Halima Nakaayi and rising star Loyce Chekwemoi will compete at the Doha meeting of the Wanda Diamond League on Friday, May 10 at Khalifa International Stadium.

Nakaayi, fresh from winning silver at the African Games, will be returning to track where she won the 2019 world title in the women’s 800m.

At the African Games, her first major event of the year, the 29-year-old clocked a time of 1:58.59 to bag but was a second slower at the Kip Keino Classic last month where she posted 1:59.89.

In the Qatari capital, Nakaayi will be joined on the line by 2023 World Champion Mary Moraa of Kenya and veteran Natoya Goule-Toppin of Jamaica as well as Great Britain’s Jemma Reekie who will be running at her first major event this year.

Moraa will be the favourite but Nakaayi, Reekie and Goule-Toppin will pose a challenge for that top spot as will Ethiopia’s Habitam Alemu.

Nakaayi continues to prepare for the Paris Olympic Games as she looks to put behind her a fair share of bad luck experienced in the previous games in Tokyo where she could go past the semifinals as well as the last couple of World Championships and the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

Meanwhile, Chekwemoi will compete in the women’s 5000m at the meet.

Chekwemoi finished third at the National Cross Country Championship held in Tororo in February this year. She also competed in the women’s senior event at the 45th World Cross Country Championship in March finishing 9th.

It will be the first 5000m race for the 17-year-old Uganda Wildlife Authority athlete who has been largely competing in the 3000m Steeplechase in her youth career.

Chekwemoi will have to run 14:52.00 or less to qualify for the Olympics in the event.

The post Chekwemoi, Nakaayi to compete at Doha Diamond League meet appeared first on Kawowo Sports.