World champion Geoffrey Kamworor is wary of the young crop of athletes who have been doing well on grass ahead of the national cross country championships set for Eldoret Sports Club next weekend.
Kamworor will be defending his national cross title in Eldoret but believes it will not be a walk in the park despite destroying his fellow law enforcers at the National Police Service cross country championships two weeks ago.
The athlete, commonly known as ‘man of all surfaces’ for his good performance on track, road and grass, said he has been training hard since he expects a tough outing at the Eldoret Sports Club. “My training is going on well and the task ahead is to defend my title as I seek make the Kenyan team to the World Cross Country Championships in Denmark, where I want to win the title for the third time,” said Kamworor.
“Training has been going on well and I am preparing well for the battle ahead. It’s going to be a tough challenge but I’m equal to the task.”
Kamworor observed that there are very good young athletes who will be challenging him and he has to be careful not to fall by the way side.
“I watched how Rhonex Kipruto was running during the Discovery Cross Country Championships and I must say he is a good athlete to watch. It’s going to be a tough battle for me but I believe in my training,” said Kamworor, who trains with marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge.
Kenya will be seeking to defend the overall title in Aarhus, Denmark on March 30. And with belief that he will make it to Denmark, Kamworor observes that he will have to double his efforts if he is to master a hat trick of titles. Uganda, who select their team this weekend, are expected to be a handful with Commonwealth Games 5,000 and 10,000m champion Joshua Cheptegei expected to easily make the team in Tororo.
“If I make the team, we are going to meet with the likes of Cheptegei and athletes from Ethiopia, who have been doing well in the recent past. Kenya has to run as a team to make sure we win back the title,” added Kamworor. The national trials shall be held in the afternoon compared to international event which normally starts at 2pm. The team that will be selected is expected to camp in Kigari, Embu for residential training before heading for the global event.