The Kenya 1,500m team for the World Under 20 Championships, set for August 27-31 in Lima, Peru, is prepared to defend the men’s title and reclaim the women’s title from Ethiopia.
Josphat Kipkirui and Collins Koech Kibiwott are aiming to defend the title won by Reynold Cheruiyot during the 2022 World Athletics U20 Championships held at the Estadio Olímpico Pascual Guerrero in Cali, Colombia.
Kipkirui hopes to upgrade his 2023 Africa U18 Championship title to a global gold. His talent in athletics was nurtured by Beijing Olympics 800m silver medallist and 2007 world champion Janeth Jepkosgei, who later handed him over to coach Claudio Berardelli of 2 Running Club in Kapsabet, Nandi County.
“I started competing in primary school, mostly in cross-country, where I often finished in second or third place. When people saw me compete, they would tell me about my grandfather, who also used to race. That encouraged me a lot. I continued competing until I later met Janeth at our local church, and she took me in,” said Kipkirui.
The 18-year-old has been working on his speed at the Moi International Sports Center in Kasarani. He mentioned that before joining the camp about two weeks ago, he had not trained on a tartan track, but he has now fine-tuned his skills and is ready for the five-day championship.
Kipkirui initially started as a sprinter in the 400m race before moving up to the 1,500m. This shift happened after a friend, who was competing in the 1,500m got injured and was asked to step in—a decision he does not regret, adding that his body feels more in tune with middle-distance running than with sprints.
His teammate, Collins Kibiwott, added that they are very focused on their training and are taking it seriously with the competition in mind.
“Every training session feels like we are in the actual competition. We have a plan, and we hope it will enable us to bring the title home. We don’t want to let the country down,” said Koech.
Their counterparts, Mary Nyaboke Ogwoka and Miriam Chemutai Kibet, are hoping to reclaim the women’s title from Ethiopia. This comes after Birke Haylom (4:04.27 CR) out-sprinted Brenda Chebet (4:04.64 PB) and Purity Chepkirui (4:07.64 PB) to take gold, while the latter settled for silver and bronze for Kenya.
Nyaboke has been working on her speed and is thankful to her coach, Dennis Ondogo of St. Peters Keberesi, whom she approached in Form One. He agreed to nurture her talent, and she has been improving ever since.
