CHAMP IN THE MAKING: Ereng talks up Korir as potential 800m wonder

Emmanuel Korir, 800m runner at University of Texas at El Paso. [PHOTO: COURTESY UTEP ATHLETICS]

The connections between the old coach and his young pupil are too obvious to ignore. Both University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) in USA, coach Paul Ereng and freshman Emmanuel Korir began their careers as 400-meter runners before moving up to the 800.

Both are Kenyans who came to the United States for college (Ereng starred at the University of Virginia). Both, at one point, ran faster than anyone in the history of the world (Ereng held the world indoor record for 800 meters from 1989-2000; Korir set a world indoor best of 1:14.97 for 600m on January 20, a mark subsequently bettered by American Cas Loxsom). And now they share a campus in the hills of West Texas.