Jepkosgei switches to 1,500m for London Olympics
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E-mail Xinhua, April 6, 2012
Janeth Jepkosgei, the World 800m bronze medallists, has confirmed plans to move up the ladder to the 1,500m discipline ahead of the London Olympics in July.
Jepkosgei, 28, has turned out to be one of the most consistent Kenyan athletes recently. But lack of interest, intense competition in the two-lap race and injuries might have had the better effect on the 'Eldoret Express' to force her to make that final stop on the 800m race and switch lanes to the longer 1,500m distance.
"I have been thinking about it. I want to run in the 1,500m race. I'm done with 800m and in the Olympics, I intend to compete in the other race," she said.
But though Jepkosgei is making the leap to the four-lap race, she is not leaving without a successor. Training mate Eunice Sum has been running under her shadow and made the break last year when she represented Kenya at the World Championships making it to the semi finals.
The understudy is learning fast and Jepkosgei is certain, Sum will weather the storm and curve her own niche in the discipline.
"She has done enough in training and looks good. She can take over from me. I also nurtured Winnie Chebet, a former world junior champion, to succeed me when I leave the 800m race and I just pray God to guide me in this," said Jepkosgei who runs for Kenya Police.
The move will also not leave Kenyans wondering who will carry the country flag in the 800m race after the resurgence of Olympic champion Pamela Jelimo in Istanbul when she was crowned the new World Indoor winner.
Jelimo beat Jepkosgei to win the gold medal in Beijing in 2008. But Jepkosgei has learnt to move on after reaching the cliff and will not cry over spilt milk.
Of course the 2007 Osaka 800m world champion has noting to prove after an eventful career in the 800m race spanning over 15 years.
"For now, I' m not even thinking about retirement but I guess when its all over, I will take a break and after that, I always wanted to be a nurse and I want to be in touch of people and I think I will go back to school to learn how to do it," Jepkosgei told reporters in Eldoret.
"Maybe I will want to be in Moscow to take on the Russians at home during the World Championships in 1500m. I still have enough energy to challenge for the top and I intend to do just that."
"I now train with Eunice Sum, and I believe she will too make an impact. I want to step up to 1,500m after next year' s London Olympic Games."
Her intentions are to leave a mark, literally, at the Olympic Games.
"It is about time I do something unique. I wanted to double up 800m and 1,500m in the Olympics, but after assessing my fitness, I believe the 1,500m race will do. That is if I make the Kenya team," she said.
Jepkosgei, who also won a silver medal at the Africa Senior Athletics in Nairobi in 2010, had bagged the inaugural world youth championship in Poland while a Form One Student in Sing' ore Girls Secondary School in Keiyo in 1999 and later sealed her schooling victories with a gold medal in the 2002 world junior championship in Kingston, Jamaica.
She trained under Bro Colm O' Connell, an Irish lay missionary at St Patrick' s High School in Iten.
After school, Jepkosgei bagged gold medals in the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia and the 2007 world title in Osaka, Japan and settled for a silver medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. She won silver at the Berlin World Championships in 2009 and dropped to bronze in Daegu last year.
Jepkosgei, a hurdler who took up the two-lap race by default, went down in history in 2007, as she became the first Kenyan woman to bag gold medal in middle distance in a global championship at senior level. She is best remembered for dethroning Mozambique Maria Mutola, upstaging in a jaw-throbbing then national record of 1:56.04.
In 2004, she qualified for the Athens Games but was locked of the Kenya Olympic squad, as she had not attained the 'A' standard qualifying time.
"That never bothered me. You simply go step by step and eventually attain your goal," said Jepkosgei.
That is the same plan she hopes to use as she change gears up to the 1,500m distance.
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