Coach Vincent Mumo is confident that Emmanuel Lemana and Stephen Masindet possess the apt pedigree to hoist the Kenyan flag high at the forthcoming 2020 World U-20 championships slated for Nairobi in August next year.
Mumo said he is determined to polish the duo to the desired finesse ahead of the national trials which have been set for April next year.
Lemana and Masindet were among the athletes who broke no sweat during the Athletics Kenya World U20 Pre-trials at the Nyayo Stadium on November 20.
Since then, Mumo — a Kenya Defence Forces officer — has been hard at work, moulding the two middle-distance runners in an effort to beat the best out of them and usher them into international glamour.
"I've been working with the two boys since the pre-trials in Nairobi and they look quite promising. I believe they all have the capacity to make the final team," said Mumo, who was introduced to athletics at a tender age by the current Athletics Kenya senior vice-president Paul Mutwii.
During the pre-trials held in Nairobi, Lemana emerged second in the 1,500m, only three seconds behind the victor Vincent Keter of Nairobi after he clocked 3:43.0. Masindet came home fourth in 3:46.5.
In the 800m race, Lemana managed 1:49.2 to finish second yet again while Masindet was sixth in 01:50.8.
Masindet, however, warned his opponents to disregard him at their own risk, while reiterating that it would be totally misleading for anyone to judge his ability using the pre-trials results.
"I personally didn't give it my best shot. My intention was to qualify for the finals in April next year," said Masindet.
