As a precocious 16-year-old, her talent barely raised eyebrows. After all, this was just a tiny girl trying to win honours for her primary school.
And this was just one of those competitions where barefoot girls running without the right kit try to outdo each other on barely noticeable lanes due to overgrown grass.
Unfortunately, that young girl is Ruth Jebet. And she is now running for Bahrain. In February 2013, when she was just 16, she decided to change nationalities and compete for the Arab country.
So why should Kenyans be concerned about Jebet?
What many don’t know is that the Bahraini runner could be the reason why Kenya might not win a gold medal in the today's 3,000m steeplechase race.
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The diminutive runner holds the fastest time in the world this year after she beat Kenya’s hope for gold in the race, Hyvin Kiyeng, in the Eugene IAAF Diamond League meet and set the world leading time in the process.
If Jebet delivers the gold for Bahrain, questions will be asked why Kenyan authorities let her go.
It will not be the first time Jebet spoils a Kenyan party at a major event. At the 2014 World Junior Championships, she beat Kenyans to the gold medal.
Kiyeng will, however, take heart as she also won her heat in 9:24.61. Teammate Beatrice Chepkoech (9:17.55) also had no problems winning heat two on Saturday.
Lydia Rotich, who sneaked into the finals by virtue of being among the six fastest losers, will join Kiyeng and Chepkoech in a bid to stop Jebet and other opponents, among them Tunisia’s world silver medallist Habiba Ghribi.
Jebet’s winning strategy in heat one (9:12.62) may be what keeps Kenyan coaches burning the midnight oil to make sure a Kenyan daughter donning Bahraini colours does not snatch the gold. But Kenyan head coach Julius Kirwa remains optimistic.
“I know how my team has trained and I am not really concerned with what our competitors have planned as I believe in my team,” Kirwa told Feverpitch ahead of today’s final.
Apart from Jebet, Kenyans will also face stiff competition from Ethiopia’s Olympic bronze medallist Sofia Assefa. Emma Coburn of the US and Germany's Gesa Krause, who won silver at the World Championships last year, are other athletes to watch.
