•Kimeli wants to be one of the challengers to double world 5000m champion Obiri
•She has been working on her speed and endurance by competing in the national cross country championship and AK track and field series
•Kimeli is also set to run at the KDF Championships next month
Image: COURTESY
The 2019 Ottawa 10km champion Dorcas Kimeli is hopeful of gracing the global stage at this year's World Championship in Oregon, United States.
Kimeli was part of the Team Kenya to the 2019 World Half Marathon Championship in Gdynia, Poland where she finished 11th.
Following double world 5,000m champion Hellen Obiri's announcement that she will defend her title in July, Kimeli wants to be one of the challengers to the throne.
"My main target is the World Championships. I ran in Poland in 2019 and I am drawing on that as self-belief that I can represent my country once more. I know there are a lot of people fighting for the same ticket, especially Obiri but am ready for the challenge," Kimeli, who clocked a personal best of 15:22.51 at Stade des Grands Pêchers, France last year, said.
Despite the PB, Kimeli came tenth in the race.
Kimeli finished fifth at the 2019 Adizero Road to Records 10km race in Herzogenaurach, Germany, timing 31:22.
The 2019 Nocturna Valencia 15km champion also timed 30:55.90 to finish sixth in the women's 10,000m at the 25 Laps to Tokyo race in Olympiastadion in Sweden.
Nonetheless, she said she has learnt from the sub-par performances and is working on her speed and endurance, which have been her Achilles heels for some time.
"I went back to training and have been working hard on my endurance and speed. I can already see some improvement, especially when competing at the third leg of the Athletics Kenya track and field series. With the help of my coach, I will look forward to more races in the near future," the Kenya Defence Forces officer said.
The new year has also been unkind to Kimeli as she stepped up her preparations for the track season at the national cross country championship in Eldoret, where she finished 13th in the senior women's race.
However, she redeemed herself a month later at Nyayo Stadium where she won the Heat 1 of the women's 5,000m, clocking 16:00.31 ahead of workmates Valentine Jepkoech (16:02.13) and Marion Chepkoech (16:04.00).
"In Eldoret, I was struggling with a minor injury and so performed badly. At Nyayo, I wanted to amend things although I expected the race was tough. That was the kind of competition I wanted because I am still working on my speed," she said.
Kimeli will also be competing at the KDF Championships slated for next month.