Vivian Cheruiyot, Betsy Saina grab Olympics slots in Eldoret
Three-time World 10,000m champion Vivian Cheruiyot (left) celebrates with Betsy Saina moments after the 10,000m race at the Olympic National Trials at Kipchoge Keino Stadium in Eldoret on June 30, 2016. Vivian won in 31min 36:60 sec. PHOTO | JARED NYATAYA |
What you need to know:
- Cheruiyot, who won bronze in 10,000m at the 2012 London Olympics, clocked her fastest time on Kenyan soil of 31 minutes and 36.37 seconds, beating United States-based Betsy Saina, who came in second in 32:04.83.
- Cheruiyot and Saina will now team up with Africa Games and Africa 10,000m champion Alice Aprot.
World champion Vivian Cheruiyot on Thursday qualified for the Rio Olympic Games after winning the women’s 10,000m race at the ongoing National trials at the Kipchoge Keino Stadium, Eldoret.
Cheruiyot, who won bronze in 10,000m at the 2012 London Olympics, clocked her fastest time on Kenyan soil of 31 minutes and 36.37 seconds, beating United States-based Betsy Saina, who came in second in 32:04.83.
Cheruiyot, the 2011 World 10,000m and 5,000m champion, and Saina will now team up with Africa Games and Africa 10,000m champion Alice Aprot, who was given a wild card, in a bid to wrestle the title from their Ethiopian arch-rivals.
Aprot, who is also the Africa Cross Country champions, clocked a world-leading time of 30:26.94 to win the African title in South Africa on Saturday.
The Kenyans will now face a strong team from Ethiopia led by 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympics 10,000m champion Tirunesh Dibaba, World 5,000m champion Almaz Ayana and World 10,000m silver medallist Delete Burka.
Ethiopia selected their 10,000m women and men’s teams on Wednesday night in Hengelo, where Ayana timed a world-leading 30:07:00, beating Burka (30:28:47) and Dibaba (30:28:53) respectively.
LEGENDARY RIVALRY
It will be interesting not only to see how the fast Aprot and Ayana will handle the field but also the legendary rivalry between Cheruiyot and Dibaba, who are both returning from maternity leave.
“It feels great running my fastest time on Kenyan soil and especially at high altitude,” said Cheruiyot, who won silver in 5,000m at the 2012 London Olympics.
“I can’t say I am going for gold in Rio, but what I want to do is prepare well since everybody will be in great shape going into the race.”
Cheruiyot said she will be banking on great teamwork from Aprot and Saina to deliver good results in Rio.
An elated Saina celebrated her 28th birthday in style on Thursday by claiming a ticket to her maiden Olympics.
“I wanted to give myself something better and I told Cheruiyot before the race that we should go for it,” said Saina, who finished eighth in 10,000m at last year’s World Championships.
The Ethiopian men’s team has little-known Yigerem Demelash, Tamrat Tolla and Abadi Hadis, who will face the Kenyan team that will be named Friday.
Already, World 10,000m silver medallist Geoffrey Kamworor has been given a wild card.
