Despite winning the men's 3000m steeplechase at the Kenya Defence Forces Athletics Championships, African champion Benjamin Kigen believes he still needs to improve on his speed.
Kigen said the long period of inactivity due to the coronavirus pandemic has inevitably affected his performance.
"Today, I ran 8:31.96, which is 16 seconds slower than the last time I ran. This is almost like lagging behind by 200m. Even though I am satisfied with the win, I know there is still a lot of work for me to do to get to the desired level of performance," the 2018 Eugene Diamond League winner said.
He overcame the challenge of Vincent Kipyegon (8:36.39) and Elkana Cherop (8:38.31) to win his specialty in a championship that brought together the different KDF formations.
Kigen has set sights on various national and international competitions including the national trials to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Diamond League series.
"The more you compete, the more you understand yourself and which areas you need to improve. I was looking forward to defending my title in Africa and also battle for a ticket to the trials and eventually the Olympics. I am confident that with more training, I will be able to produce better performances than today's," he said.
The African gold medalist admits he is disappointed and worried by the postponement of various international competitions including the Senior African Athletics Championships, earlier planned for Algiers, Algeria in June.
However, he believes this is not an excuse for him to despair, rather, to keep hope alive.
"It is important to remain in shape whether in season or out of season. I had hoped to compete at the two Diamond Leagues in Ostrava and Gateshead but that was not possible because I had to run here. I am still discussing with my coach if we will be competing in Doha on May 28," he said.
In some of the finals competed on the ultimate day, Winnie Chebet clocked 4:04.48 to win the women's 1,500m ahead of Judy Kiyeng (4:09.16) and Selah Jepleting (4:09.95).
In the women's 10,000m, Irine Kimais (32:01.96) trumped this year's KDF Cross Country Championships runner-up Joyce Chepkemoi (32:12.76) and former world half marathon record holder and New York Marathon winner Joyceline Jepkosgei (32:23.39) to clinch the title.
Charles Simotwo timed 3:46.88 to win the men's 1,500m ahead of George Manang'oi (3:46.93) and Matthew Kipsang (3:47.02).
