NAIROBI, Kenya, December 8 – After cruising to glory at the second edition of the Great Chepsaita Cross Country Run on Saturday, Cynthia Chepkurui has now set her gaze on success at the fifth leg of the Athletics Kenya (AK) Cross Country Series in Ol Kalou.
The youngster says the victory was just the stroke of luck she needed for her infant career to lift off.
“When I go back to training, I want to intensify my training because my next target is next weekend’s Cross Country Series in Ol Kalou. I want to work on my speed so that I can perform well as I have done today,” the 16-year-old said.
Until Chepsaita, Chepkurui was waiting for her first ever podium finish this year.
She was part of the Kenyan team at the Africa Cross Country Championships in Hammamet, Tunisia where she finished 11th in the under 20 women’s 6km race.
The youngster also contested for a place on Team Kenya to the World Under 20 Championships in Lima, Peru but missed out after finishing 10th in the women’s 5000m at the national trials in June.
Her performance in the ongoing Cross Country Series has not been nothing much to write about either.
In previous legs in Machakos, Iten and Bomet, the 16-year-old has fallen way out of the podium places.
Nonetheless, she made amends on Saturday with victory in the Under 20 women’s 6km, clocking 0:21:17 to cut the tape.
In second was Yvonne Jepchirchir who timed 0:21:43 as Joyline Chepkemoi clocked 0:21:50 in third.
Chepkurui admitted the race was tough.
“I enjoyed myself out there even though there were challenges here and there. There were a lot of hilly spots as well as sloppy ones. It goes a long way to show that I need to work on a few things,” the Kaliyet Secondary School student said.
Speaking at the same time, Jepchirchir admitted her disappointment at missing out on the top prize.
“My main target coming into the race was to win it. However, there was a tightness in my hamstring and so I decided to hold on to number two. I am grateful to God for finishing on the podium amid the challenges I’ve had to contend with today,” the youngster said.
Like Chepkurui, Jepchirchir will also be in action at next weekend’s Ol Kalou Cross Country meet, hoping to go one better than the Great Chepsaita.
