Winnie Chepngétich, the first Kenyan woman to qualify for a field event at the World Championships, is looking to impress at the WU-20 Championships in Cali, Colombia early next month.
Chepngétich said she looks up to two-time national champion, Gloria Mulei and she is targeting to get to her level. She earned a direct ticket to represent the country at the global show in the long jump after covering 6.20m.
She is set to double in both the long jump and triple jump events and she believes she can make it to the podium.
“I feel prepared and I target to bring the title to Kenya. So far, the training is okay and I have improved greatly. I want to be like Mulei and jump like her one day. I have met her several times and she inspires me a lot,” she said.
Chepngétich recounted how her teacher in high school (Kericho Day Secondary School) identified her talent in jumps and that is how her journey started.
However, it has not been a walk in the park for the 18-year-old as she narrated how being Kenya’s sole representative in the field event has exerted pressure on her.
“I used to participate in all events in high school but my games teacher discovered I was best in jumps. That’s how my journey started. I feel motivated but I am under pressure to deliver. A technical event requires a coach who monitors all your drills. Besides, training as a team is better than working alone but I have no choice but to bear with the situation at the moment,” she said.
On his part, Athletics Kenya president Jack Tuwei expressed his happiness to have Chepngétich represent the country in field events. He said he is confident she will record exemplary results and it will be a motivation to other young people.
Chepngétich will have her first event on August 3 at 7:45 p.m. for the long jump qualification.
