Olympian Nelly Chepchirchir is hoping to ride her unbeaten streak to glory at the Tokyo World Championships in September over the women's 1,500m.
Chepchirchir is part of a formidable quartet announced by Athletics Kenya to spearhead Kenya's charge in the metric mile in Tokyo. Leading the group is four-time World Champion Faith Kipyegon, who will be seeking to defend her title.
Chepchirchir, Susan Ejore and Dorcas Ewoi will join Kipyegon to form a strong Kenyan contingent. The 22-year-old Chepchirchir has been in imperious form this season, going unbeaten in all her outings. She opened her 2025 campaign with a commanding win in the road Mile at the Adidas Adizero Road to Records meet on April 26, posting 4:23.99.
Ethiopia’s Hawi Abera (4:26.83) and American Addison Wiley (4:31.49) trailed in second and third, respectively. Chepchirchir carried that momentum onto the Diamond League circuit, kicking off with a win in Doha on May 16 (4:05.00), where she edged out Ejore (4:06.27) and Britain’s Jemma Reekie (4:07.33).
She followed that with a 3:58.04 victory in Rabat on May 25 before setting a season best of 3:57.02 to claim her second victory in Paris on June 20. She further showcased her range with a dominant 1,000m win in Monaco on July 11, clocking 2:29.77 to beat Wiley (2:30.71) and Australia’s Jessica Hull (2:30.96).
Heading into the Tokyo showdown, Chepchirchir sits second in the Diamond League standings with 16 points, just one shy of leader Sarah Healy of Ireland. At the World Championship trials last Tuesday, Chepchirchir underlined her domestic dominance, storming to victory in 4:05.09 ahead of Ejore (4:05.24) and Ewoi (4:08.08) to seal her ticket to Tokyo.
Chepchirchir is now banking on her hot streak in 2025 to execute a masterstroke in her second World Championship appearance in Tokyo. "My form has been good this season, and that is giving me confidence heading to Tokyo."
"I have run with a lot of top athletes this season, and I know they are the ones who I will meet again in Tokyo," Chepchirchir said. But Chepchirchir knows the road to the finals won't be a walk in the park. “The heats at the World Championships are always tactical and demanding."
Chepchirchir, however, remains bullish, eyeing a finals slot. "My target is making it to the finals, then from there I can aim for a podium finish."
She believes the Kenya squad is capable of delivering a podium sweep with teamwork. "A podium is very much possible because we are a lot of strong athletes, so my prayer is we all get to the finals, the from there we can plan as a team to sweep the podium."
Chepchirchir made her World Championship debut in Budapest in 2023, where she placed fifth in the final in 3:57.90. Now armed with experience and confidence, she believes she’s ready to challenge the world’s best.
"I learnt a lot from my first appearance at the World Championships. I learned to be focused and disciplined."
With the World Championships just a month away, she hopes to focus on sharpening her speed. "I want to focus on my speed because I have not been doing a lot of speed work."
