World 10,000m champion Vivian Cheruiyot will face rival Genzebe Dibaba at the Diamond League meeting in Eugene on May 27.
The duo will compete in the 5,000m race, where Dibaba is the world champion and winner of last year’s event. The women’s 5,000m will be the highlight of the Distance Night at Hayward Field, the evening before the main meeting on Saturday.
Cheruiyot is the Kenya’s 5,000m record holder and the only runner with more than one Diamond race title in this event, after winning the first three from 2010-12. Kenya will be well represented in the 12-lap race with six other athletes in the mix.
Kibiwott has made her country’s Olympic Games or world Championships team every time since she was 23 in 2007, all in the 1,500m until 2012 when her focus shifted to the 5,000m, the distance at which she will be bidding to challenge for the medals at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
Mercy Cherono, now 25, earned a silver medal at the 2013 World Championships . The other Kenyan to keep an eye on is Hellen Obiri, 26, the Hayward Field record holder over 1,500m with 3:57.05, who showed she has returned quickly to form after taking last year off for maternity when finishing second over 1,500m in 3:59.34 at the IAAF Diamond League meeting last Saturday. Three other Kenyans in the field are also worthy of mention.
Sally Kipyego, 30, has trained for several years in Eugene and earned 2012 Olympic Games and 2011 world championships 10,000m silver medals, and also owns the Prefontaine Classic 3000m meeting record.
Betsy Saina, 27, is another Kenyan who trains in Oregon. Like Kipyego, she amassed a number of American collegiate titles while studying in the USA, in her case at Iowa State.
Irene Cheptai, 24, was seventh in both the 5000m in Beijing and last year’s world cross country championships. Earlier this month, she made headlines when she won the 10,000m at Stanford’s Jordan Invitational in 31:15.38, her first attempt at the distance. Bahrain’s Mimi Belete, 27, and UAE’s Betlhem Desalegn, 24, are also in the field for the women’s 5,000m. Molly Huddle, 31, leads the domestic challenge and her major championships credentials include finishing fourth over 10,000m at the IAAF World Championships Beijing 2015.
Other American runners include 2015 US 5000m champion Nicole Tully and her Beijing team mate Marielle Hall, as well as Kim Conley, who ran the 5000m at the London 2012 Olympic Games and 2013 world championships.