Serem’s comeback charge: Diamond league king returns from injury, eyes Kip Keino Classic statement

Amos Serem/ HANDOUT

After being largely sidelined for the entire 2025 season, 2024 Diamond League final winner Amos Serem is primed for a long-awaited return to the track at the seventh edition of the Kip Keino Classic on April 24.

Serem headlines a star-studded cast of water-and-barrier specialists confirmed for this year's Kip Keino Classic at Nyayo National Stadium, setting the stage for a pulsating steeplechase showdown.

The 23-year-old will lock horns with familiar foes, including his younger brother Edmund Serem, the reigning world bronze medallist and Olympic bronze medallist Abraham Kibiwot. Serem’s return follows a frustrating spell on the sidelines after suffering a leg injury in March 2025 during the third Athletics Kenya Track and Field Weekend Meet in Kapsabet.

The setback ruled him out for the entire 2025 campaign, including the national trials for the World Athletics Championships. Before that injury blow, however, Serem had soared to global prominence, capping his 2024 season with a surprise victory at the Brussels Diamond League final.

In a race that announced his arrival among the elite, he stunned two-time Olympic and world champion Soufiane El Bakkali to claim victory in 8:06.90, with El Bakkali clocking 8:08.60 for second as Tunisia’s Mohamed Amin Jhinaoui completed the podium in 8:09.68.

The Kip Keino Classic will mark Serem’s second appearance at the meet, having finished second in the 2024 edition. Back to full fitness, he returns with renewed hunger, keen to stamp his authority and lay down an early-season marker ahead of a defining 2026 campaign.

However, the path to victory is anything but straightforward. Standing in his way is defending champion and his brother, Edmund Serem, who produced a clinical performance at last year’s edition, clocking 8:27.68 to take top honours at the Ulinzi Sports Complex.

He edged Ethiopia’s Dinka Fikadu (8:27.97) in a tight finish, while compatriot Gemechu Godana sealed third in 8:31.82.

Edmund arrives with confidence following a breakthrough performance on the global stage at the World Championships in Tokyo last September, where the 19-year-old stormed to bronze, stopping the clock in 8:34.56. New Zealand’s Geordie Beamish claimed gold in 8:33.88, with El Bakkali settling for silver in 8:33.95.

Also in the mix is two-time Kip Keino Classic champion Abraham Kibiwot, a seasoned campaigner eager to reassert his dominance and ignite his 2026 season with a statement victory. Kibiwot first announced himself in 2021 with a second-place finish in 8:22.33 behind El Bakkali (8:21.20), before going one better in 2022, clocking 8:21.92 for his maiden title.

Ethiopia’s Samuel Duguna settled for second in 8:27.40 that year, with Benjamin Kigen taking third in 8:30.28. In 2023, Kibiwott again flirted with victory, finishing second in 8:19.71 behind Amos Kirui, who triumphed in 8:18.45. He emphatically reclaimed his crown in 2024, storming to victory in 8:20.54 ahead of Amos Serem (8:21.40) and Mathew Kosgei (8:23.84).