Kipkurui, Alamisi reveal plans ahead of World U20 Championships

The 2023 World Cross country champion Ishmael Rokitto Kipkurui will be making his debut on the track during the World Under 20 Championships slated from Tuesday 27 to Saturday 31 August in Lima, Peru.

Kipkurui, who has been competing in cross-country, will be hoping to win a track medal.

He will start his track journey by competing in the 5,000m alongside Commonwealth Games Youth silver medalist Andrew Kiptoo Alamisi, and has expressed optimism that he will return home with a medal.

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The 19-year-old is a form four candidate at Sinonin Secondary school in Baringo County. He missed out on the World U20 Championships in Cali due to injury and is now raring to go.

He was unable to defend his World Cross Country title earlier this year but is motivated to earn his first international title in Lima, Peru.

“I had planned myself well this year before the World Cross Country trials but I suffered an injury before the trials. I still competed for sixth. I got into the team but a week into the camp my injury worsened. I did not give up. I went ahead and competed though I was unable to finish and defend my title,” Kipkurui offered.

After the World Cross Country championships, Kipkurui took time off to nurse his injury before returning to action with the hopes of representing Kenya at the Paris 2024 Olympics. He failed to hit the qualifying time but later in the month he made the U20 team.

“This will be the first time I shall be competing in the Under 20 track. I have been representing Kenya in cross country. Track is quite different but if all goes well, I am confident of positive results," he added.

He discovered his talent while at Sinendet Primary school though he did not take it seriously. He would get interested in athletics after competing in the school county games and later on proceeding to regional level.

That is when he was discovered by experienced coach Kitilit who nurtured talent at Sinonin training camp formerly known as Torongo.

At the same time, his counterpart Alamisi is also aiming to secure a medal in the competition.

Alamisi admitted that he was shy while in primary though he knew had the talent. He finally gathered courage to explore his talent after joining Form One at the St Peters Keberesi Secondary School in Kisii County where he nurtured his talent.

He continued his training at the school, but his progress was interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

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Afterward, he transferred to Sugutek Secondary School, where he began to take athletics more seriously. His dedication paid off in 2023 when he won his first 3,000m silver medal at the Africa Under 18 Championships in Zambia.

That same year, he added to his achievements by securing silver medals in both the 1,500m and 3,000m races at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad and Tobago.

Kenya aims to surpass their 2022 performance in Cali, Colombia, where they finished fourth overall with 10 medals (three gold, three silver and four bronze), trailing Ethiopia (12 medals), Jamaica (16 medals) and the USA (15 medals).