World Under-20 race walker Heristone Wanyonyi says he is not giving up on his dream as he seeks to take part in next year's World Championships in Budapest and the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Wanyonyi is excited as he graduates to the senior cadre next year. " I can't wait to feature in the global show next year and perhaps the Olympic Games in 2024," he noted.
Wanyonyi was hoping to defend his World U-20 title in Cali Colombia early this month but his hopes went up in the smoke after he was disqualified on technical grounds.
Wanyonyi said he is currently working on his endurance and technical skills as he looks forward to the upcoming assignments.
Wanyonyi said his Cali outing was not what he had anticipated owing to the fact that he was suffering from a hamstring injury and the unfavourable weather conditions made it worse.
He cited last year's win in his specialty at the WU-20 Championships in Nairobi as the most memorable moment. In the last year’s edition, he bagged gold in 42:10.84.
“My breakthrough came when I won gold on home soil in 2021. It was a great moment for me. The Cali show, however, was not in my favour as I was still recovering. The weather was not bearable too,” he said.
He revealed he looks up to Japan’s Yusuke Suzuki, the current world 2okm walk record holder, for inspiration.
Wanyonyi, who trains at the General Service Unit Headquarters in Nairobi under coach Gabriel Otwane, thanked his coach for the guidance this far.
“I had ventured into running before I met my coach. He challenged me to try race walking and I gave it a shot. I did not know I would come this far but I am grateful to him,” he said.
