BERLIN, Kenya, August 12 – 2007 World Cross country bronze medallist, Bernard Kipyego, arrived in Berlin Tuesday to link up with the first batch of Kenyan athletes who had checked-in for World Championships a day earlier.
Kipyego, who will compete in men’s 10,000m final on Monday next week, had his flight delayed due to a minor visa hitch that saw him left out of the initial party of 32.
“I have enough time to recover and we have prepared well to compete for our country,” Kipyego said at Berlin’s Tegel Airport upon arrival to the German capital.
Kipyego who was third at the trials will compete alongside Moses Ndiema Masai and Micah Kogo as Kenya hopes to win the first 10,000m world title since 1991 when Moses Tanui took top honours.
Masai and Kogo were included in the team after Athletics Kenya (AK) dropped Sammy Kitwara and Gideon Ngatuny who had won and finished second respectively at the trials for competing in road races in Europe.
Ten marathoners are scheduled to leave Kenya on Saturday to join the team that is resident at Berlin Hotel. The World Championships start on the same day.
The 12th edition of the World Athletics Championships will start on August 15 and end on August 23. In the last edition held in Osaka two years ago, Kenya won five gold, three silver and five bronze.
