World champion Hellen Obiri says she will stop at nothing to clinch an Olympic 5,000m title before venturing into road races.
Obiri said she will use the upcoming Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon on February 19 in UAE as a build-up for the Tokyo Olympics slated for July this year.
“The race will be an opportunity to assess my physical and psychological preparedness for the upcoming races. Afterwards, I want to start preparing for the Olympics. It is the only medal missing from my collection in my track career and I want to clinch it before I transition into road races ,” Obiri said.
She said she has decided to give the Africa Cross Country Championships in Lome, Togo a wide berth so that she can prepare well for the global showpiece.
“I will represent KDF (Kenya Defence Forces) at the National Cross Country Championships next month but I will not represent the country in Lome. From there I will compete in RAK and being my first half marathon race, I want to focus on it,” she said.
She was speaking on Friday afternoon at the Moi Air Force Base in Eastleigh, Nairobi during the KDF Cross Country Championships where she won the women’s 10km race in 33:25.1.
Closely behind her was Joyce Chepkemoi (33:32.6) and Sheila Chepkirui (33:47.0).
Obiri commended the two for putting up a tough fight and expressed optimism about KDF’s chances at the national championships.
“I think we will do very well and compete closely with the National Police Service because we have a very strong team. We have Sheila and Joyce who are very fast and skilled runners and so am optimistic of our chances at the nationals,” she said.
Whereas Obiri will be missing in Lome, World Half Marathon record holder Kibiwott Kandie hopes to contribute to Kenya’s medal haul at the Lome meet on May 1-2.
Kandie won the men’s 10km race in 29:24.5 ahead of Collins Koros (29:32.5) and Eric Kiptanui (29:40.5).
“I did not expect that the competition would be this tough. It seems that the other runners have been working extra hard because I had to stretch myself to the limit to win the race,” Kandie said.
The World Half Marathon silver medalist said he will up his efforts in training based on his assessment of his fitness levels at Friday’s meet.
