Janeth Chepng'etich's Tokyo World Championship ambition
Athletics
By
Stephen Rutto
| Aug 17, 2025
African 10,000m champion Janeth Chepng’etich will be on a mission when she flies the Kenyan colours at the 2025 Tokyo World Athletics Championships next month.
She will be teaming up with countrywomen, record holder in the distance Beatrice Chebet and 10km fastest woman Agnes Ngetich, in their campaign to bring the medals home.
Just weeks to the global showpiece scheduled for September 13 – 21, Chepng'etich says her dream is a maiden world medal.
She already has an African 10,000m gold medal on her wall cabinet.
“My biggest dream is a medal from the World Championships, and it requires hard work and listening to instructions from the coaches,” Chepng’etich told Standard Sports at the High Performance Training Centre run by legendary athlete Kipchoge Keino on the outskirts of Eldoret.
Confidence is written all over her face as she tunes her speed and endurance in Eldoret and Iten ahead of the Tokyo World Championships.
“I moved from Keringet, which is situated on a lower altitude compared to Eldoret and Iten and I have adapted fully to the training environment, and I'm ready for the World Championships,” said Chepng’etich.
In Tokyo, she says she will be racing side by side with Chebet and Ngetich as she chases her dream.
Chepng’etich had won the women’s 10,000m at the national trials staged at Ulinzi Sports Complex, earning an automatic ticket to Tokyo.
She ran a personal best of 14:40.25 for the 5000m at the 2025 Prefontaine Classic earlier in July.
But she is cognisant of the tough duty at the upcoming World Championships.
“Achieving what we have planned means we are going to fight hard in Tokyo. We are going as a team, and we are going to make a great squad,” Chepng’etich said.
In February 2025, she finished second behind winner Agnes Ngetich at the Sirikwa Classic, the World Athletics Cross Country Tour Gold meeting in Eldoret.
But before jetting off for the major assignment in Tokyo, Chepngetich is looking to fire a final warning shot when she starts at the Brussels Diamond League in Belgium on August 22.
In Brussels, Chepng’etich will be putting to test her speed and other tactical aspects following days of training in the Kenyan pre-departure camp in Eldoret.
“In Brussels (Diamond League) I’m going to run 5000m. I am going to test my speed endurance, and that race will help me and coaches to determine the areas to improve on before the World Championships in September,” she added.
Team Kenya coach Gideon Chirchir said tacticians are bonding the team ahead of departure.
He said releasing a number of Team Kenya stars to the Diamond Leagues is part of the preparations for the global event.
“Competition is part of the training. Releasing some of the athletes to go to the Diamond Leagues is another way of preparing the athletes for the competition (World Championships),” said Chrichir.
The tactician further said: “The training environment is perfect, and most of the athletes are adjusting faster because we have been training here ahead of major competitions such as the Olympics. At the moment, we sometimes train the athletes on murram tracks, and when we want a tartan track, we go to the Lornah Kiplagat High Altitude Facility in Iten.”