Triumphant stars return from Uganda

The triumphant ‘Team Kenya’ returned to heroic reception at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Monday from the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Kampala where they topped the medals table.

The athletes sipped away Kalenjin traditional sour milk, Mursik, amidst song and dance led by the Kenya Utamaduni Ngoma traditional group from Nairobi’s Jericho Estate.

Champions Geoffrey Kamworor and Irene Cheptai led the athletes out of the Kenya Airways lobby to the thunderous cheers from the eagerly awaiting crowd that included family members, friends and a battery of journalists who clicked their cameras away for the best shots and also sought interviews.

World 1,500 metres champion Asbel Kiprop, who guided Kenya to victory in the inaugural mixed relays race, also disembarked alongside the team of 39 athletes.

Kamworor, who vowed to win more World Cross Country Championships titles, said his immediate focus will be how to win the 10,000 metres world title on the track in London this August.

Kamworor said he didn’t retain his cross country title on silver platter in Kampala last Sunday, especially after the “supersonic speed” scare by Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei in the last two laps of the 10-kilometre race run on a two-kilometre circuit.

“I had to dig deep but I knew he would not have sustained the speed in such hot and humid conditions,” Kamworor said.

“I had to remain resilient and calculate my steps and speed and I thank God it worked well.” He added that he will not run any marathon this year, opting to focus his energies at the World Athletics Championships in London.

“The 10,000m is the title I desire most now and I want to work hard for it,” said Kamworor, adding that defending champion Mo Farah will find it rough at his London back yard.

Cheptai said the change of training did the trick for her to win the title on her third attempt after previous assaults in 2013 (Bydgoszcz, Poland) and 2015 (Guiyang, China).

“I had more training sessions unlike before and I think that is what worked for me,” said Cheptai, who dedicated his victory to get husband and coach Barnaba Chirchir. “He has been so patient with me.”

Cheptai said great team work saw Kenyan senior women make history by sweeping all the six top places.