I will stop at nothing, 2017 is my year vows Elijah Manangoi

[PHOTO: COURTESY]

Fresh from winning team Kenya a gold medal at the 2017 World Athletics Championships in London, middle distance runner Elijah Manangoi has vowed to take the world by storm this year.

Speaking in Kenya’s capital after a training session, Manangoi’s optimism reflected his big heart for success and ambitions in his career. “I am delighted to have finally won a gold medal for Kenya. This is something not just for the country at large but also for me, my family and my generation. The world will remember me for this, after several years of hard work,” said the man who has now specialized in running 1500 meters.

Born in Narok County, Elijah Matonei Manangoi stands at six foot tall and weighs around 60 kilos under the custodianship of trainer Bernard Ouma who is also his coach.

“Elijah is a work in progress. We take a day at a time and do not hurry things on our side. It’s a development tactic from the very first step he puts on his running shoes. This gold medal is a sign that we are now ripping from the sweat of our labor.” Ouma praised Manangoi.

Manangoi first broke into the global scene at the 2014 common wealth games in Glasgow, Scotland. He performed dismally finishing 12th with a time of 3:45:47. The following year he secured a spot to represent Kenya at the World Athletics Championships in Beijing China.

“Things were tough in china, but I have endured some worse moments in my life especially training under harsh weather conditions back at home. I once lost my uncle and was told the news while still in training, but I took heart and finished my practice then went ahead to mourn. This is life in general and you have to take it as it comes, that moment winning silver in Beijing was very special.” the optimistic Manangoi said.

Manangoi continued working hard and again secured a spot to represent Kenya at the 2016 Rio Olympics in Brazil. “Things dint work well for me. I feel that I let my country down. Finishing a poor 26th place with a time of 3:46:83 was never on my agenda, but that is life anyway. Sometimes you win and at times you lose,” Manangoi said.

The 1500m world champion refused to comment on the issues that may have caused his lackluster performance while in Brasil. Athletics stake holders in Kenya will remember that the organization of the Kenyan teams to the 2016 Olympics was marred by massive corruption allegations from the top, starting from the government level at the ministry of sports, way down the ladder to Kenya’s athletics governing body Athletics Kenya.

At the 2017 world athletics championships in London, Great Britain, Ouma saw the best of his athlete when he clinched a gold medal, finishing at 3:33:61 ahead of fellow country man Timothy Cheruiyot and Norway’s danger man Filip Ingebrigsten who was always a threat.

“Most runners in his category have broken a world record at age 24. His exact age to be precise, and this is why am thinking why not work hard now and try to break a world record?” the coach asked and added that Manangoi is now at the right age to take the world by storm and conquer the 1500m track if he wants the world to remember him as a legend.

Manangoi’s previous personal bests were recorded in 2015 while running the 800 m in Brussels, Belgium where he finished with a time of 1:47:40 and later in Monaco, France while doing the 1500m, where he finished with a time of 3:28:80.

The world champion has now vowed to stop at nothing this year. He is determined to work even harder and conquer more races. He is surely a work in progress, developing day by day to greater heights and now Kenyans are waiting with eagerness to see if the Narok born warrior will redeem his Olympics dreams at the next summer event in Tokyo, Japan.