COMMONWEALTH Games 1,500m champion Faith Chepng’etich is hoping to atone to her failures at the 2013 World Championships when she parades at the 15th edition of the IAAF event in Beijing China next month.
Chepng’etich failed in her quest to rule the world in her first appearance in the senior race, finishing fifth. She had previously ruled the junior category winning the world cross country title in 2011 and the world junior 1,500m title the same.
It will be her second appearance and first as a senior, having run in Moscow as a junior, and she will be hoping to graduate in style in Beijing.
Chepng’etich played second fiddle to the European indoor 1,500m champion Sifan Hassan of Netherlands in Lausanne on Thursday and has vowed to up her game heading into the Worlds.
Boasting of a season best time of 4:00.94 she clocked last month in Olso, the 21-year-old, who holds the Kenyan record at 3:56.98 said it was difficult to run sub-4 in Lausanne, owing to the cold weather conditions.
“It is very cold here and running faster time was a bit difficult. The winds are heavy and tend to slow down the pace,” she said.
With the hunt for slots in Team Kenya expected to intensify after the national championships last weekend, Chepng’etich is focusing to make a cut during the national trials set for later this month in Nairobi.
“The fight is still on and I want to first make a cut to the Team Kenya for Beijing and polish some few areas ahead of the world championships,” she added.
She believes she has what it takes to win Kenya a gold medal in Beijing despite the stormy opposition from foreign athletes.
Genzebe Dibaba of Ethiopia clocked 3:54.11 in Barcelona on Wednesday to break the African record which has lasted since 1997 and set world lead time this season.
The 2011 world champion Jenny Simpson of USA is another athlete with a 3:59.31 season best and Chepng’etch agrees she is also likely to be a hard nut to crack.
“Everybody has run good time this season and my intention is to better it before the World Championships. It will be very difficult but through sticking to my training programme, I know I will make it,” she observed.
Faith represented Kenya in the previous Olympic Games in London but failed to advance to the final. However, she basks in the glory of winning in several major competitions.
Apart from the Commonwealth Games, she also has a World Youth gold medal and was also a member of the Team Kenya who won the 4x1500m during the inaugural world relays in Bahamas last year.
Courtesy of the-star.co.ke