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2019 IAAF World Championships

Rabat Takeaways: Ethiopia Beginning To Make Noise In Steeple

Rabat Takeaways: Ethiopia Beginning To Make Noise In Steeple

The Rabat Diamond League meeting featured a fast women's steeple, an international debut for Kenny B, and an Ethiopian national record in the men's steeple.

Jun 16, 2019 by Lincoln Shryack
Rabat Takeaways: Ethiopia Beginning To Make Noise In Steeple
The Diamond League was back in action on Sunday as the international track and field circuit made its annual African stopover in Rabat, Morocco.

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The Diamond League was back in action on Sunday as the international track and field circuit made its annual African stopover in Rabat, Morocco.

Here are three takeaways from the sixth Diamond League meeting of the 2019 season:

It’s Going To Be Really Tough To Medal In The Women’s 1500m

While the majority of the running events in Rabat produced mediocre times, the women’s 1500m bucked that trend with a whopping seven sub-4:00 performances, including a 3:55.47 win for Genzebe Dibaba-- the world record holder’s fastest since 2015-- and five sub-4:00 personal bests behind her. The 28-year-old Dibaba was able to hold off a late charge from Sifan Hassan, who finished runner-up in a 3:55.93 PB.


Even though Hassan does not plan to run the 1500m in Doha, instead taking her incredible range to the 5k and 10k, Sunday’s slugfest in Morocco highlighted an event that is overflowing with star power. 2017 World silver medalist Jenny Simpson was seventh in Rabat in 3:59.83, her second-fastest time in the last two seasons.

That six women beat Simpson in a race without Laura Muir, Shelby Houlihan, Shannon Rowbury and reigning world champion Faith Kipyegon shows that the women’s 1500m should only get better as we draw nearer to the World Championships this fall. There are still questions surrounding some of those names-- Houlihan is recovering from an injury, while Rowbury and Kipyegon are working back to fitness after pregnancies last year, but after today’s race it’s wild to think that this event is only scratching the surface of its potential.

Kenny Bednarek’s International Debut Was A Bit Underwhelming

The entry of Juco phenom Kenny Bednarek into the Rabat 200m represented the first chance for the international track world to witness the breakout star after his spectacular 19.82/44.73 double at last month’s NJCAA Championships. Coming off that world-class performance against sub-par competition, Rabat looked like a great opportunity for the 20-year-old Bednarek to up his game on the sport’s biggest stage and possibly score a Diamond League win against a modest field.

But despite coming in with the fastest season’s best, Bednarek looked flat on Sunday in his first race in nearly a month as he finished fourth in 20.51. He got out well and held a slight lead coming off the curve, but the Indian Hills’ star seemed to tighten up in the final 75 meters as three men went by him. Andre de Grasse, who is on the comeback from injury, won the lackluster race in a 20.19.


It’s easy to chalk up the underwhelming performance to a combination of rust and nerves, but it sounds like Bednarek’s travels to Morocco were less than ideal:

With this bumpy first international race out of the way, I would expect Bednarek’s summer to go much smoother. There’s still over five weeks until USAs, and a return to his 19.8 ways would put him in prime position to earn a spot on the team for Doha.

Ethiopia Finally Has Some Talent In The Men’s Steeple

The men’s steeplechase has yet to become entirely whole this season as neither reigning world champion Conseslus Kipruto of Kenya or 2017 bronze medalist, USA’s Evan Jager, have raced on the Diamond League circuit so far. Kipruto is dealing with an injury, while Jager’s status is unclear; he has yet to race at all in 2019. 

But even in their absence, it’s been hard to ignore the success of two young Ethiopians, Getnet Wale and Chala Beyo, who finished 1-2 on Sunday in 8:06.01 and 8:06.48. The 18-year-old Wale’s winning time in Rabat is a national record for an East African nation that has historically been lacking in talent at a distance dominated for decades by their Kenyan rivals.

The Ethiopian pair’s big day in Morocco was made considerably easier by local favorite and 7:58 man Soufiane El Bakkali’s awful race-- he was last in 8:27-- but in toppling the mighty Moroccan, plus Rome winner Benjamin Kigen (third in 8:07.25 in Rabat), Wale and Beyo each showed that they have medal potential for Doha. That’s a significant development for a nation that has never had a men’s steeplechase medalist at the World Championships, especially with no timetable set for Kipruto or Jager to return. 

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