Athletics coach Julius Kirwa is confident Kenya's dominance in cross country will remain unchallenged if the level of competition witnessed during the national trials on Saturday at Ngong Racecourse is anything to go by.
Kirwa expressed his elation at the competitiveness shown by the local athletes when Athletics Kenya selected Team Kenya to the Africa Cross Country Championships set for Lome, Togo on March 7.
"The competition in the different categories was very stiff just like I had expected. In particular, I was impressed by the level of competition in the senior men's race. The course was very tough and set in accordance with international standards," Kirwa said.
He expressed optimism about Kenya's chances in Lome.
"We want to excel very well in these championships but our level of success will depend on the training at Kigari Teachers' Training College. We will work on the issues that need ironing out to ensure we come back with the team crown and as many individual titles as possible," he said.
Kirwa expects changes to occur in the team but only after the team assemble in Embu for their residential camp on Wednesday.
"There are those who may choose to drop out of the team to participate in other races or injuries may occur. Once we know of any changes, we will let you know," Kirwa said.
Elsewhere, Rodgers Kwemoi — one of those to fly the Kenyan flag in West Africa — wants nothing but the gold medal at the continental showpiece.
Kwemoi, the newly-crowned national cross country champion, said he is 100 per cent fit and will be looking to build upon his outstanding performance on Saturday.
"I have been grappling with a hamstring injury for some time but now I feel like being in the best shape of my life. Bar the Ethiopians, I believe there is no other nation posing a big threat to our dominance in cross country," Kwemoi said.
Recalling his shock victory, Kwemoi revealed he almost dropped out of the race in the initial stages due to physical weakness.
"At the start line, I felt so weak and was not so sure if I could hack it. I decided to assess myself after the first lap and see whether I was still in the best shape to continue or drop out. Fortunately, I regained my strength, decided to continue and the rest is history," he said.
The Commonwealth 10,000m bronze medalist produced a stunning final lap performance to beat world half marathon record holder Kibiwott Kandie to the tape in 31:03.3.
Kandie clocked 31:05.5 ahead of third-placed Edwin Bett, who timed 31:10.9.
"In the run-up to the finish line, I looked behind me and saw that he (Kandie) had really kicked on. However, I had established a wide gap and I knew I was destined for victory," Kwemoi said.
