Reigning NCAA steeplechase champion Doris Lemngole will step onto the Diamond League stage for the first time on August 20 in Lausanne, where she will lock horns with World U-20 champion Sembo Almayew of Ethiopia.
The 23-year-old is riding the high of a historic call-up to Kenya’s Tokyo World Championships squad, where she will join Olympic bronze medallist Faith Cherotich and NCAA 5,000m and 10,000m champion Pamela Kosgei in the water-and-barriers event.
The-23-year old earned a coveted slot in Team Kenya after placing second in the national trials on July 22, clocking 9:24.69 behind Faith Cherotich, who clocked 9:09.44. Lemngole will be hoping to use the Lausanne meet to sharpen her form ahead of a maiden global appearance. The youngster highlighted her joy of making the Team Kenya squad.
"It means a lot to make this team go to Tokyo. I am very happy even though the results were not good at the trials," Lemngole said during the World Championship trials. Lemngole has been in flying form since kicking off her 2025 campaign.
She opened her season with the indoor meetings, winning the 3,000m at the Orange and Purple invitational (8:54.65) and a 5,000m at the NCAA Division One Indoor Championships (15:05.93).
Her outdoor season saw her kick off with a dominant 3,000m steeplechase victory at the Wake Forest invitational (9:10.13) before winning a 5,000m race at the Southern Conference Championships (15:11.62).
The highlight of her season came at the NCAA Nationals on June 14, where she stormed to victory in a then-world-leading 8:58.15. She led Americans Lexy Halladay (9:08.68) and Angelina Napoleon (9:16.66).
In Lausanne, the Kenyan debutant faces a formidable cast. Almayew has already claimed two Diamond League podiums this season, placing third in Doha (9:09.27) and Paris (9:01.33), alongside a solid fifth at the Prefontaine Classic (8:59.90). She began her campaign with a 14:41.75 clocking over 5,000m in Xiamen.
Adding even more spice to the race will be 2022 world champion Norah Jeruto and Tunisia’s Marwa Bouzayani.
