Reigning Paralympic 1,500m silver medalist Nancy Chelang’at Koech reckons that the current corona pandemic has denied her a chance to break the world record in her speciality.
“I have dominated the event for the past four years and I was ready to break the record this year before COVID-19 struck,” she noted.
Koech, who is also the All Africa Games 1,500m champion, assured that she was well prepared for the Paralympic Games in Tokyo, where she wanted to leave a mark by setting a new world record.
“ I have been training three times a day to ensure that a run faster than the current mark of 4:42. I was actually targeting 4:38 and below,” she noted. She, however, hopes to return stronger despite after the coronavirus pandemic is contained.
“Life is hard out here. I do light training especially at home since we can’t go for a long run. Besides, there is too much rain and this has also restricted or training,” she added.
Koech had qualified to compete at the Paralympics after winning double titles at the world championships in Dubai last year.
“I won both 1,500m and 400m and therefore I was hoping to run in two events in Japan. I felt bad like any other runner when the games were moved to next year. However, I hope to be in good shape for the events,” said Koech. Koech is a double winner at the 2016 All Africa Games, having scooped gold in 1,500m and 200m respectively. Koech competes in the T11 category.
