Kandie targets 10,000m glory despite injury struggles

World half marathon silver medalist Kibiwott Kandie is looking to make a comeback to track racing ahead of the busy 2022 World Athletics season where he hopes to make Team Kenya’s contingent to the World Championships and the Commonwealth Games.

The two major championships are scheduled for 15 to 24 July and 28 July to 8 August respectively but Kandie says he is yet to decide in which local competitions or otherwise he will make his comeback on the track as he targets to represent the country in 10,000m.

“I have had issues with my knee from last year and that has made training really tough. However, I am confident I will get my form back before the season heats up,” offered Kandie.

During the Kenya Defence Forces’ (KDF) cross country championship held at Moi Airbase (MAB) on Friday 7 January, Kandie finished seventh in a race won by Africa Games 1500m finalist Eric Kiptanui who endured a tricky course to clock 29:20.59 ahead of Collins Koros.

The former half marathon record holder associated his knee injury with the 50-metre-long water and mud section that characterized the national cross country championship last year where he finished second to Rodgers Kwemoi.

“I have not been able to train well since last year’s national event as my knee has been troubling since. In my opinion, having mud on our cross country courses is creating problems for us with unwarranted injuries,” Kandie opened up.

Kandie set the previous world record in Valencia in December 2020 before transitioning to the full marathon in 2021, in a previous interview, he said he would focus on the classic distance in the preceding seasons.

In setting his half marathon record, Kandie slashed 29 seconds off a 58:01 set by his compatriot, two-time World Half Marathon champion Geoffrey Kamworor in Copenhagen, in 2019.

Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo clocked 57:31 to take one second off Kandie’s mark at the EDP Lisbon Half-Marathon in November 2021.