World Under-20 3,000m steeplechase trialist Amos Serem believes he can match the achievements of double Olympic champion and four-time world champion Ezekiel Kemboi.
Kemboi etched his name in history books as one of four athletes to have held the Olympic and world titles in men's 3000m steeplechase and the upstart Serem wants to follow in his footsteps.
"Kemboi is one of the people who paved the way for most of us and we look up to him. Lately, the Ethiopians have been coming fast onto us and there is need for us to work hard to maintain our status as a powerhouse in steeplechase. I believe I am more than equipped for the task alongside other upcoming steeplechase athletes," Serem said.
With the World Under-20 Championship set for August 17-22 at Moi Stadium, Kasarani — almost a week after the Tokyo Olympics —Serem will be keenly following the feats of Kenya's representatives in the hurdle and waters race at the quadrennial event.
He believes that a masterpiece performance by the trio of Abraham Kibiwott, Benjamin Kigen and Leonard Bett will be the right motivation for a world-class performance on home soil.
"I believe they will do us proud by producing a clean sweep of the medals. Kibiwott, Kigen and Bett will probably set the pace for us back home so that we can also battle with our opponents on home soil. We will be watching closely to get some inspiration from them," he said.
However, before earning the ticket to represent the country at the junior event, Serem will have to work hard to win the men's 3,000m steeplechase at the national trials.
In Thursday's first semi-final, Serem timed 8:25.36 to finish first ahead of Simon Kiprop (8:28.89) and Aron Bett (8:43.00) in second and third respectively.
He admitted he needs to work hard to lower his time.
"I will target a time of 8:20 or lower in the final. The pace today wasn't so bad but I could probably improve on it. I will work on improving my speedwork to achieve a faster time," Serem said.
The three-day national trials will culminate in the selection of approximately 50 athletes to represent Kenya at the World Under-20 Championship at the same venue.
Day one was mostly characterised by qualifiers in various races and field events with the naming of the final team set for Saturday.
In other results of day one, Ronald Kipng'etich clocked 8:50.67 to win the men's 3,000m steeplechase semi-final 2 as Alan Kiplangat ((8:54.37) and Joash Ruto (8:58.14) finished second and third respectively.
Vincent Keter won the first semi-final of the men's 1500m, timing 3:42.41 ahead of Emmanuel Lemama (3:43.17) and Gilbert Kipngetich (3:47.75).
In the women's high jump final, Zeddy Chesire and Dar-Ziv Nyah Jemeli both jumped 1.68m to finish first and second respectively whereas Sarah Elijah jumped 1.60m to finish third.
