NAIROBI, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's Commonwealth Games champion Elijah Manangoi is leading a battalion of over 20 Kenyan elite runners to the annual Prefontaine Classic meeting in Eugene, Oregon in the United States.
The Prefontaine Classic, the third stop in the premier Diamond League meetings, will see the first season clash of world leaders in the 1,500 meters race Manangoi and Commonwealth Games silver medallist Timothy Cheruiyot.
The two led a 1-2 Kenyan sweep in last year's World Championships in London and again as recently as April's Commonwealth Games in Australia, but they are far from the only great racers in the event.
"It is about running fast time. We have a lot of rivalry between me and Manangoi, but it ends on the track. We are the best of friends off the track. In Prefontaine, that tradition will continue and hopefully, I will be able to win to cement my place as the best in Diamond League," Cheruiyot said on Monday in Nairobi.
The duo will see strong challenge from former winner in Eugene Ayanleh Souleiman - whose meet record of 3:47.32 is the fastest ever on U.S. soil.
Manangoi, 25, was the fastest and best last year in the 1500, winning World Championships gold in London after a silver in 2015 at Beijing.
He lowered his 1500 best to 3:28.80 to become ninth-fastest ever and fifth fastest Kenyan. Manangoi made the powerful Kenyan Olympic team in Rio, but was injured in the heats.
