The year 2023 saw the debut of World U20 gold medalists Faith Cherotich and Emmanuel Wanyonyi on the senior scene.
At the 23rd World Athletics Championship in Budapest, Cherotich, a teenager from Kenya, won bronze in the 3000m steeplechase, while Wanyonyi took home silver in the 800m.
In addition to moving up to second place on the world U20 all-time list with 8:59.65, Cherotich—who won gold and bronze in the world U20 competitions in 2021 and 2022—also finished third in the Diamond League Final in Eugene and fourth in the U20 race at the World Cross Country Championships.
Wanyonyi, the gold medallist for the 2021 world U20 competition, not only won the world championship but also won the Diamond League title in 2023 with a personal best time of 1:42.80. Along with competing in and winning Diamond League races in Rabat, Paris, and Xiamen, he was a member of Kenya’s world cross-country mixed relay winning team.
