World men's 1500 meters champion Timothy Cheruiyot hopes that the extended preparations for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics will put him in better shape as he tries winning the medal he cherishes the most.
The world champion is however first seeking a qualification berth having missed the Rio Olympics by a whisker.
Training under the tutelage of coach Bernard Ouma, the middle distance king says that he is in the right shape and just hopes that nothing comes in between now and when the Summer Games take place in Tokyo.
“In 2016 I missed on Rio because I was number four in the trials so I need to make it to the Kenya team so we have trials coming up and I first have to get the slot.”
“That is something I lack in my career (an Olympic medal) and i have been training hard to ensure that I get to Tokyo and win a Gold medal for Kenya,” he told Sport Scene on CGTN.
Cheruiyot says the challenges he has faced in the past one year have made him a better athlete and hopes this replicates in the real competition.
Rongai Athletics Club is the home of the world champion and a host of other athletes, everyday they meet at a pirate school along Magadi road for their routine training under coach Bernard Ouma.
The celebrated coach says that the environment provided by the club has made it possible for the athletes to try out new things and he hopes that will go a long way in making the athletes achieve better things in this calendar year.
"Last year was bad,this year I don't think it is going to be as bad as last year. We are prepared for any eventuality,” Ouma said.
"We live together, all of us so that means the bubble is working for us and we try to keep up with the adherence of the covid protocol as stipulated by the various organs of government and the World Health Organization (WHO).”
Strict covid-19 countermeasures have forced Cheruiyot to adapt to the new style of things which he says is a bit strange.
"Normally when we go for races, we go and train before the races but now you are locked up in the room and head to the competition. It's a bit challenging, “ Cheruiyot added.
Kenya has only one medal in the race, Asbel Kiprop winning gold in the summer Games held in Beijing 2008.