Habiba Ghribi after taking the steeplechase silver medal at the 2011 IAAF World Championships in Daegu (© Getty Images)
Only three of the top six finishers, including just one medallist, from the 2013 World Championships are set to compete in Beijing, so surely things will change at the top of this event.
Defending champion Milcah Chemos and 2013 world silver medallist Lydia Chepkurui are not on the Kenyan team, but Ethiopia’s reigning bronze medallist Sofia Assefa will be in Beijing. The 27-year-old, however, is not in the form she was in two years ago, so may not get among the medals this time.
Instead, world leader Habiba Ghribi looks to be the best pick for the win. The 31-year-old has only raced once indoors and once outdoors this year, winning in Monaco in July with a world-leading 9:11.28, the third-best time of her career.
It may seem as though one race is not enough heading into a championships, but she similarly went to the 2012 Olympics with just one race under her belt – a 9:28.81 win in Paris, much slower than her current season’s best – and came away with the silver medal and a Tunisian record of 9:08.37.
Kenyan Trials winner Hyvin Jepkemoi finished sixth in Moscow, but is a medal favourite this time. She is the second-fastest athlete in this event in 2015, clocking a 9:12.51 personal best behind Ghribi in Monaco.
Second at the same trials was Virginia Nyambura, also third in Monaco in a 9:13.85 personal best. The 22-year-old is entering her first major senior championships. Her only previous championship appearance was at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games where she won the 2000m steeplechase.
Ethiopia’s Hiwot Ayalew, who finished fourth in Moscow two years ago, is also in the picture. The 25-year-old Ethiopian also finished fifth at the 2012 Olympics and won the 2014 African title. Her best time in 2015 is 9:14.98 for fourth place in that same Monaco race.
Behind the top medal contenders are two young runners who could make an impact in Beijing.
USA’s Emma Coburn didn’t figure at the top end of the race in Monaco, where she finished 10th, but the 24-year-old is in similar form to 2014 when she ran a PB of 9:11.42 in Glasgow. She also knows how to run in championship races and has clocked her best time this season, 9:15.59, at the US Championships.
Germany’s Gesa-Felicitas Krause is also looking to take a step towards the podium in Beijing. The 23-year-old has made the past three global championship finals, finishing seventh and ninth at the 2011 and 2013 World Championships respectively and eighth at the 2012 Olympics. Her best time in 2015 came in Monaco, where she finished sixth in 9:20.15.
Mirko Jalava for the IAAF
