Kemboi, Cheruiyot to be honoured with statues in Eldoret

Statues of World and Olympic champions Ezekiel Kemboi and Vivian Cheruiyot will be unveiled in Eldoret on Friday, a day before the National Cross Country Championships are held at Eldoret Sports Club.

The unveiling of the statues that have been prepared by Medihill Hospital will take place at 12.30pm on Friday at the junction of Nairobi, Kapsabet and Kaptagat.

Kemboi, who has won Olympic 3,000m steeplechase title twice and World title four times and Cheruiyot, the 2016 Rio Olympics 5,000m champion, are among four athletes whose images will be unveiled.

Cheruiyot also won the 2009 and 2011 World 5,000m titles and 2011 and 2015 World 10,000m titles.

Athletics Kenya (AK) Central Rift secretary Kennedy Tanui disclosed that AK President Jackson Tuwei will preside over the ceremony.

Meanwhile, Tanui said that athletes are expected in Eldoret on Thursday ahead of the national trials. A meeting of athletes’ agents and managers will be held on Thursday 10am at Noble Hotel and will be followed by athletes’ seminar on Friday 8am at the same venue.

This is the first time the National Cross Country Championships is being held outside Nairobi. Kipchoge Keino Stadium hosted the 2016 Rio Olympic Games trials with Mombasa staging the 2007 World Cross Country Championships.

Team Kenya for the 2019 World Cross Country Championships slated for March 30 in Aarhus, Denmark will be selected at the Eldoret event.

“We are ready to host teams for the trials and we call on Kenyans to troop in Eldoret to witness one of the most exciting cross country races ever in the region,” said Tanui. “The course at the Sports club can accommodate many fans.”