World champions draw inspiration from track greats

WORLD CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP - KAMPALA Kenya's Asbel Kiprop hands over the wrist band to Winfred Mbithe in their wining mix relay race during the IAAF World Cross Country Championship in Kololo, Kampala, Uganda on March 26, 2017. [PHOTO/DENNIS OKEYO/STANDARD

Kenyans wrote history in the medley relay and senior races at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships on Sunday at the Kololo Independence Grounds in Kampala.

The champions’ scripts read like those of most Kenyan world-beating athletes, who draw inspiration from great athletes.

The gold medallists; Asbel Kiprop, Geoffrey Kamworor and Irene Chebet Cheptai, look up to their role models, having grown up in rural areas.

Kamworor had unbridled love for athletics from his childhood, but harboured no interest for full-time athletics. The 24-year-old did not look outside his village for inspiration - he comes from a region with a rich athletics pedigree in 5,000m and 10,000m.

Within a radius of 10 kilometres from his home in Keiyo South lives world’s long-distance greats among them double world champion Vivian Cheruiyot, former Military Games 5,000m champion Sammy Kipketer and Kenyan-turned-Qatari, Albert Chepkurui.

As a young boy, Kamworor would sneak from home to the nearby Kapkenda Girls High School, where he peeped through the live fence as athletics world beaters trained.

Former Olympic 1,500m champion Nancy Jebet Lagat, former world 3,000m champion Veronica Nyaruai and former world cross-country silver medallist Prisca Jepleting are among the globe-trotting stars who studied at the school.

“I loved the sport from childhood. I am happy that I can realise my dreams here. I now want to break the 21km world record this season,” said Kamworor, who attended Lelboinet Secondary School, in Keiyo South.

Not bad for a boy, who did well in English and had trained his sights on becoming a lawyer. But he is a policeman and will always enforce the law.

“I just to practice athletics. I know this sport might land me a scholar to USA, where I will still pursue a degree in law. I enjoy English, which is why, I did well in my class,” said Kamworor. Kiprop dropped out of Kaptinga Secondary School in Uasin Gishu County to concentrate on athletics.

He comes from a family with an admirable 1,500m pedigree. His father David Kebenei was fourth in 1,500m in the 1987 All Africa Games in Nairobi.

His wife Sammary Cherotich won the 2005 IAAF World Youth 1,500m title in Marrakech, Morocco. The name Kiprop in Kalenjin means one born during the rainy season, which is associated with a bumper harvest. No wonder he anchored Kenya to its first mixed medley relay gold medal.

Cheptai comes from West Pokot, same as bronze medallist Lilian Kasait.

 

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