Multiple wolrd champion Vivian 'Pocket Rocket' Cheruiyot has given a thumbs up to the country's efforts in the fight against doping.
The track queen, who has since transitioned onto the roads, rekindled her past glories in the 10,000m during the National Police Championships held at the Moi Stadium, Kasarani on Wednesday through Thursday.
And after finishing a distant ninth place, Cheruiyot drummed the anti-doping drums, urging both established and upcoming athletes to keep off the vice.
"Stay away from drugs, race clean and work hard in your training. That is the only way you can have a good legacy. You fail once, twice or even more but if you are focused, you will finally achieve your goal. But don't dope," said the 2016 Olympic 5,000m champion said.
"It is the greed for money that pushes them (athletes) to use the back door to success. Avoid being controlled by money, let the talent rule."
It has been three years since Cheruiyot competed, at the 2020 London Marathon, where she registered a Did Not Finish. She later took a maternity break ahead of the birth of her second child, Arielle Jebiwott in 2021.
Commenting about her first track event in seven years, the 39-year-old said: "The race was nice and I am happy that I managed to finish despite being out of action for three years. This was meant to test my body and I can see am progressing very well."
She clocked 34:59.34 in a race won by Gladys Kwamboka (33:05.57), with Stacy Ndiwa (33:05.65) and Sandra Felis Chebet (33:07.99).
Cheruiyot, the 2017 London Marathon champion, also urged upcoming runners to embrace teamwork in addition to personal efforts, adding that it is through teamwork that they (Team Kenya) managed to rule the world in the distance races.
"During my time on the track, you could see us working in groups during international events, which brought success for close to 10 years," she said. "This was possible since we embraced teamwork, which is lacking among our junior runners nowadays. We wanted to help each other achieve greatness," she said.
She also lamented the premature transition of young runners from the track onto the roads, arguing that this has worked against Kenyan athletics.
"Stop rushing onto the long distances and road races," she said. "Maintain where your specialty is until you have exploited everything. Do not race for three years on track then proceed to road. Be patient, your time will come."
Meanwhile, Cheruiyot ruled out a return to the track going forward, revealing that her immediate target is to represent the country at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
"I am back. And my mission will be to run good times and win races. My focus will be on the marathons, targeting Paris Olympics. However, I might race in September after consulting my manager," she pointed out.
