Kenya’s Emmanuel Kiprono produced a stunning performance in the men’s 3000m to win gold and set a new championship record at the World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26 on Saturday.

Kiprono clocked 7:28.28, comfortably winning the race and moving to second on the world all-time U20 list.

His mark was just 0.09 seconds shy of Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha’s world U20 record of 7:28.19, set in Paris in 2016.

France’s Alois Abraham finished a distant second in 7:47.79 to take silver, while Japan’s Ojiro Honda claimed bronze in 7:48.49 after setting a Japanese U20 record.

The depth of the race was remarkable, with the next eight athletes across the finish line all recording personal bests. Chinese Taipei’s Chien Tzu-Chieh was among them, finishing sixth in a national U20 record of 7:51.18.

For Kiprono, the victory marked a major turnaround after he settled for silver at the World Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee earlier this year.

The Kenyan said he returned to training determined to improve and was delighted that his preparations paid off in Oregon.

“I went back to training, did well, and got a chance to represent Kenya at the World Championships. I am so excited that it worked for me today and I won the gold medal,” Kiprono said.

He added that he had a strong feeling before the race that he was capable of producing a special performance.

“When I woke up this morning, I was feeling so good and I knew something special was coming. I am going to train and prepare for the 2028 Olympics,” he said.