Middle-distance runners in action (© Getty Images)
Kenya have virtually owned this event with six wins in the previous eight editions and the incredible East African endurance factory will be heavily fancied to strike gold again in Cali.
Leading their charge is world youth leader Kumari Taki who blitzed to an emphatic victory by more than three-and-a-half seconds in 3:37.54 at the Kenyan Youth Championship in Nairobi in June.
Joining Taki on the Kenyan team will be Lawi Kosgei (3:41.10), the man who finished runner-up in that race and who sits at number two in the world youth lists.
Predictably, Kenya’s main threat is likely to come from Ethiopia. Their twin challenge is led by Mulugeta Assefa (3:41.15) who competes alongside the talented Welde Tufa (3:42.54).
The quickest non Africans are Belgian Jochen Vermeulen (3:44.27) and Great Britain’s James Gormley (3:46.59).
Steve Landells for the IAAF
