Obiri targets gold in both 5,000m and 10,000m at Tokyo Olympics

World 5,000m champion Hellen Obiri hopes to compete for gold in 5,000m and 10,000m at the upcoming Tokyo Olympics on July 30-August 5. 

Obiri said she has already set in motion plans to seamlessly transition to the 10,000m race and she is mentally focused on the task ahead. 

"To transition to 10,000m is not easy. You need to improve on various aspects like the speed work and mentally tune yourself to the requirements of this race. There are various competitions ahead for me including the KDF Championships and the Olympics trials. If I make the final team to Tokyo, I will compete in both races," she said. 

Obiri further admitted she needs to up her training in order to reap maximum rewards from her foray into this race. 

"I am normally used to 12 and a half laps but today, I've had to run 25 laps. This means that the training programme would have to change to cover more distance or laps. So for the next four months, I will be working on my speed and running more kilometres," she said. 

Traditionally a 5000m specialist, Obiri competed in 10,000m at this weekend's Athletics Kenya track and field weekend meeting at Moi Stadium, Kasarani. 

She finished first in 31:24.7 ahead of Kericho-based Eva Cherono (31:29.6) and Victory Chepng'eno (31:42.9) who finished second and third respectively. 

Obiri admitted it was not an easy race because of the scorching sun and the challenge from Cherono. 

"I did not expect to win; the race was not easy as you can see Eva Cherono is a great runner and she also gave it her all. I have been training since the KDF Cross Country Championships and I came here to test my fitness levels. So far, so good," the Olympics  5000m silver medalist said. 

Obiri hopes to compete at the Doha Diamond League on May 28.  "I can't say much about the international events because of the impact of Covid-19 on international events. If all goes well, I will run in the 3,000m race at the Doha Diamond league," she said.