Marion Chepngetich and Diana Cherotich booked themselves a slot in the upcoming East Africa Under 18 and Under 20 Championships in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Chepngetich won the women's 5000m national trials in 15:51.29 as Cheotich followed at second in 15:51:3 at Nyayo Stadium on Friday, February 24.
This win follows a disappointing outcome when the duo missed out on the chance to travel and compete in Australia due to late VISA clearance.
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The two athletes who are best friends had qualified for the concluded World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, Australia but failed to travel.
However, despite the heartbreak, the two youngsters did not lose hope with Chepngetich describing her win as a redemption time.
“I had booked my ticket to Australia but because of visa issues, I missed out. However, I never gave up and went back to training hard in preparation for this race. I thank God that all my belief has paid off today.
She also emphasised her goal to improve her time when she heads to Tanzania citing her displeasure in her time at Nyayo Stadium
“I want to build upon today’s win in Tanzania. However, I am not too happy about the time I clocked in today. I was expecting to run 15:26 but only managed 15:51 so there’s a lot of work to do on my speed, ” Chepngetich added.
On her part, Cherotich noted that the plan in Tanzania is to finish in the same order as it happened at Nyayo Stadium.
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“Just like today, my wish is that we take the first two places in Dar es Salaam. We want to make up for the pain of not going to Australia. After the regional championships, the aim will be to take the top two places at the Africa junior championships in Lusaka (Zambia),” Cherotich added.
She disclosed that both of them are under the same management company, however, they train in different places.