NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 10 – The 2017 World 1500m champion Elijah Manangoi insists it is time that he reclaimed the world 1500m title that his countryman, Timothy Cheruiyot, lost at last year’s edition in Oregon.
Manangoi said that the country has talented and strong runners who are more than capable of countering the threat posed by Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigsten of Norway and world champion Jake Wightman of United Kingdom.
“My only major this year is the World Championships in Budapest. The men’s 1500m is quite tough since I last competed in it. You know…we have two strong guys and we also have strong runners in Kenya such as Timothy (Cheruiyot) and Abel Kipsang,” the 2018 Commonwealth Games 1500m champion said.
“As a country, we’ll sit down together and discuss the best way to defeat the Norwegian at the World Championships.”
Manangoi has been in the athletics cold since November 2020 when he was handed a two-year ban by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for whereabouts failure.
The 30-year-old continued his comeback to action at Friday’s Athletics Kenya Track and Field Weekend meeting at Thika Stadium where he competed in the men’s 5000m, timing 14:30.7 in 14th place.
The results notwithstanding, the 2015 world 1500m silver medalist said it was satisfying to be back doing what he loves most – running.
“I liked it…it wasn’t about the fastest time. I decided to come to Thika to compete in the 5000m and the body is responding well. I’ve been working on improving my endurance levels and I am good to go,” Manangoi said.
Moreover, he was truthful about the fact that the 12-and-a-half-lap race is not his cup of tea and thus, was bound to struggle.
“I didn’t know how to balance the field and all that, so I was worried. But I decided to control the pace until the end,” Manangoi said.
He is also expected to compete in the men’s 1500m final slated for tomorrow at the same venue.
