Vivian Cheruiyot harbours high hopes

Kenya's Vivian Jepkemoi Cheruiyot celebrates winning the women's 10,000 metres athletics event at the 2015 IAAF World Championships at the "Bird's Nest" National Stadium in Beijing on August 24, 2015. AFP PHOTO / PEDRO UGARTE

Long-time rival Tirunesh Dibaba is back to try and win back the Olympic title she won four years ago in London and she will be teaming up with Almaz Ayana and Gelete Burka in trying to stop Vivian and her colleagues.

Vivian will also have the supporting cast of Africa champion Alice Aprot and Betsy Saina, who was second during the Olympic trials at the Kipchoge Keino Stadium in Eldoret.

She will be hoping that it will be third time lucky for her after failure in Beijing and London.

“I really hope I will win an Olympic title as that is what is missing in my collection,” the reigning world champion said ahead of today’s race.

Her coaches have also backed the world champion to open the medal account for Kenya with a gold medal at the Olympic Stadium, where Kenya’s focus will be after two boxers Peter Mungai and Benson Gicharu were eliminated on Wednesday.

Head coach Julius Kirwa said he was happy with his entire team and will be hoping that the 10,000m squad will start the athletics programme well for Kenya with victory.
“We trained well while in Eldoret and the squad is promising and we hope for the best from them,” Kirwa said.

Another coach Boniface Tiren was more open saying Vivian was on top form and he can’t see anyone stopping her quest for her first ever Olympic title.

“Vivian is among the  gold medal favourites here and during training she has shown to be in top form and I believe she will come with the same form to the Olympics,” Tiren said.

Vivian won the world title last year in Beijing, China to add to the world titles she won in Berlin in 2009 and the 2011 edition in Daegu, South Korea.

She has also won the World Cross Country title in 2011 in Punta Umbria Spain and the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India.

With the support from Aprot and US-based Saina, then Vivian will be the first Kenyan to win an Olympic gold at the Rio Olympics.