Ismael Kirui is hopeful to produce a better performance at the World Cross Country Championship in Bathurst, Australia.
Kirui will hope to redeem himself after a dismal performance at the Senior Africa Athletics Championships in Reduit, Mauritius.
His performance in Mauritius was the first-ever international tournament representing his nation where he finished sixth in the men’s 5,000 metres.
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Kirui is focused on a podium finish at the World Cross Country Championships.
“This will be the second time I am representing Kenya at the international level. Obviously, my expectation and that of Kenyans who follow me closely is to do better than I did in Mauritius.
“I couldn’t perform well because of an injury I had and even when I came back for the national trials for the World Championships and Commonwealth Games, I was unsuccessful. Therefore, I had to recover first and come back hard in training,” Kirui stated.
Kirui booked himself a spot at the World Cross Country Championship on Saturday, December 10, when he clocked 23:02.09 to win the men’s under 20, 8km race at the national trials at the Kenya Prisons Training College.
The event took place earlier than usual to allow extra time to process the travel documents needed so that athletes can easily attend the global event.
The youngster has dominated the Cross-Country event having won gold at the Agnes Tirop Memorial World Cross Country Tour event held in Eldoret on February 12.
He spoke on his dominance of the juniors’ category attributing his success to his determination to produce results.
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