African Youth 5,000m silver medallist Jacob Krop is worried that the coronavirus pandemic may delay his quest to fully concentrate on his athletics career should the KCSE exams be rescheduled.
Krop is among the thousands of students set to sit for their Form 4 exams this year and with the pandemic wreaking havoc to the education calendar, the athlete fears he may be forced to balance between schoolwork and running for a longer period.
The student at Chewoyet High School in West Pokot has already made a name for himself despite his younger age and is looking forward to clearing his studies at the end of the year—a move he says will pave way for him to focus on athletics.
Krop is crossing fingers that the coronavirus dust settles soon to pave way for the exams as scheduled earlier.
Krop represented the country at the World Athletics Championship last year in Doha, Qatar where he clocked 13:03.08 to finish sixth as well as to set a personal best in his 5,000m speciality.
"Coronavirus has sent shivers down my spine as I was hoping to clear my high school studies this year. We are not certain that we will sit for their exams and I am afraid any delays will mess up my plans," he noted.
In the meantime, the 10k Endebess Road race champion, revealed that he was combining training and studies on a daily basis and hopes to excel in both spheres.
He reiterated his readiness to establish himself as one of the dreaded track star in the speciality as well as break Kenya's 16-year wait for a gold medal in the race.
"My program runs, as usual, every day. I train in the morning and concentrate on the books during the day. I am focused to score good grades in the exams too. After school, I will be targeting to better my time on the track and represent the country in as many championships before shifting to international road races," he added.
