Africa-Press – Kenya. Fast-rising 5,000m runner Timothy Kiptoo is determined to make Team Kenya for the World Under-20 Athletics Championships scheduled for August 1-6 in Cali, Colombia.
Kiptoo, 18, who missed a chance to feature at the cancelled Africa Cross Country Championships, has intensified his training at Mount Elgon in a bid to realise his dream.
Kiptoo is one of the beneficiaries of the Athletics Kenya Under-20 Training Camps and he is currently training at Kaptama in Mt Elgon in Bungoma County.
He said his target is to run for the country and help the team retain the title for the third time in a row after winning in Tampere, Finland in 2018, and Nairobi last year.
“I was disappointed after the Africa Cross Country Championships were cancelled. This time, with the training camps at our disposal, I am sharpening my skills in readiness for the national trials in July,” he noted.
He cited Istanbul Half Marathon champion Rodgers Kwemoi and Abel Kipsang, who won bronze at the World Indoor Championships, as his role models. He said he is keen to double up in both 5,000m and 3,000m during the World Under-20 Championship.
“Kwemoi and Kipsang have played a critical role in my career and I would like to emulate them. The two come from Mt Elgon and have changed lives for the upcoming athletes like me,” he revealed.
A fourth born in a family of six, Kiptoo said Paris 2024 Olympic Games will be his next big project once he graduates to the senior ranks.
“It has always been my dream to represent my country and I feel the time is ripe,” said the Form 3 student at Kongit High School in Mount Elgon.
Athletics Kenya (AK) youth development, chairman Barnaba Korir, said he is impressed with the kind of determination being displayed by the likes of Kiptoo.
He thanked the government for funding training for the young athletes and urged those in charge of various camps to up their performance.
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