Timothy Cheruiyot in a previous race/ HANDOUT The 2020 Olympic 1,500m silver medallist Timothy Cheruiyot has set his sights on reclaiming the Diamond League Finals trophy and finally capturing an elusive Commonwealth Games gold after rediscovering his trademark form with a commanding performance at the Oslo Diamond League last week.
Cheruiyot rolled back the years in the Norwegian capital, storming to his first Diamond League victory since 2021 and reminding the athletics world of the brilliance that once made him the undisputed king of the middle distance.
The 30-year-old produced a perfectly timed finish to win the Mile race in 3:48.21, edging American Yared Nuguse on the line after the two athletes were credited with the same time.
Australia's Cameron Myers was close behind in third, clocking 3:48.35 to complete a high-quality podium. Cheruiyot was delighted with his performance in Oslo, a venue that has often brought out the best in him. "I enjoy being in Oslo. The crowd are always great here," Cheruiyot said.The victory was particularly significant given his mixed start to the Diamond League campaign, having experimented with longer distances in the early stages of the season. "The race went to plan. I have been running 3000m and 5000m, so it was good to do a shorter distance tonight," he noted.
Cheruiyot opened his Diamond League season in Shanghai, where he stepped up to the 3,000m and produced a respectable fourth-place finish in 7:27.24, narrowly missing out on a podium place. Germany's Mohamed Abdilaahi won the race in 7:25.77, while Kenya's Reynold Cheruiyot (7:26.11) and Sweden's Andreas Almgren (7:26.48) finished second and third, respectively.
He then stretched further to the 5,000m at the Xiamen Diamond League, finishing 13th in 13:16.41 as he continued building his endurance base.
Before his breakthrough performance in Oslo, Cheruiyot had shown encouraging signs in Stockholm, where he clocked 3:30.67 for third place in the 1,500m behind Nuguse (3:30.11) and Myers (3:30.32).
The former world champion revealed that his ventures into the longer distances were part of a deliberate strategy to sharpen his endurance ahead of the season's major targets, the Diamond League Finals and the Commonwealth Games.
"I have been testing my endurance over the longer distances. My main target is the Diamond League this year, to reach the final and win," he stated.
"Also, the Commonwealth Games, so I go home for the trials next week."
Cheruiyot will be hoping the third time proves lucky at the Commonwealth Games after twice settling for silver. He made his Commonwealth debut at the 2018 Gold Coast Games, claiming silver in 3:35.17 behind fellow Kenyan Elijah Manangoi, who struck gold in 3:34.78. Scotland's Jake Wightman completed the podium in 3:35.97.
Four years later in Birmingham, Cheruiyot again found himself narrowly close to the top step of the podium, taking silver in 3:30.21. Australia's Ollie Hoare claimed gold in 3:30.12, while Wightman secured bronze in 3:30.53. While Commonwealth gold has continued to evade him, Cheruiyot boasts an exceptional record on the Diamond League circuit.
The Kenyan middle-distance star has lifted the Diamond League 1,500m trophy on four occasions: Zurich 2017 (3:33.94), Zurich 2018 (3:30.27), Brussels 2019 (3:30.22) and Zurich 2021 (3:31.37).
