Americans Matthew Centrowitz, Leo Manzano, and Robby Andrews qualified in Friday’s semi-finals for the 1500-meter final at the IAAF World Championships in Beijing.
All of the Americans’ chief foreign competition, including defending champion Asbel Kiprop Best Running Shoes 2025 Nick Willis of New Zealand and Abdalaati Iguider of Morocco, also advanced to Sunday’s final.
There were two heats, with the first five finishers from each, plus the next two fastest finishers, qualifying for the final. In the first heat, Centrowitz was trapped in the middle of the pack, but then found room to pass one runner on the inside and another just before the start of the last lap. “I call that ‘man leaving lane one open for me,’” he said. That good fortune allowed him to move into fourth, a position he held to the finish, which he reached in 3:43.97.
Seemingly out of contention, Olympic silver medalist Manzano stormed down the final stretch, as he often does, and barely took fifth place in 3:44.28. Kiprop won in 3:43.48. With a furious sprint down the stretch on the outside, Willis was second in 3:43.57, and Kenyan Silas Kiplagat used his speed on the inside lane to take third in 3:43.64.
The two time qualifiers were clearly going to come from the second semi, which allowed Andrews the luxury of running next to last through a 1:59.00 first 800, and in last place shortly after. Andrews has said his come-from-behind style is suited to championship races, and it was this time; he sped around the final turn and passed enough runners to finish sixth in 3:35.88.
Makhloufi seemed destined to win the second heat but eased up and allowed Kenya’s new 1500 find, Elijah Manangoi, to take first by .05 seconds in 3:35.00. Iguider of Morocco was third in 3:35.20.
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Centrowitz, second in 2013 and third in 2011, has said he wants gold in Beijing. After his semi, he said, “Every year, the quality of the field gets better and better. I’m going to have to come in there [on Sunday] with my A game.”
The less restrained Andrews brashly predicted, “Clean sweep, man,” for the United States. “One, two, three for America. Let's do it,” he said.
In the women’s 200-meter final, favored Dafne Schippers appeared to be badly beaten at the top of the stretch. But the Dutch sprinter managed to catch leader Elaine Thompson of Jamaica in the final two strides to win in 21.63 seconds to Thompson’s 21.66. Schippers is now third on the all-time 200 list. Veronica Campbell-Brown’s bronze, in 21.97, was her 19th world championship or Olympic medal.
