Susan Ejore leaning on gained experience ahead of World Championships debut

Kenya’s middle-distance runner Susan Ejore says her experience over the past year will play a big role come September, when the 29-year-old features in her first World Athletics Championships event.

Ejore, a University of Oregon graduate, ticked off another career milestone on Tuesday, 22 July, as she sealed her place at the Tokyo event at the Athletics Kenya Trials.

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The St. Gabriel's Mission School alumnus clocked 4:05.24to come home second in the women’s 1500m final, adding gloss to her entry standard time of 3:56.07 she set last year.

Her World Championships ticket was the latest affirmation of Ejore’s rise on the track, following what had been a unique season in 2024.

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Following a failed bid to make the World Championships team in Budapest two years ago, Ejore, who never ran a race in high school, grabbed national attention after qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, where she impressively went on to make the finals.

In the build-up to that achievement was her first appearance in the Diamond League circuit in Doha, before doubling down with two more meets in Pre Fontaine and Paris.

In reality however, her remarkable 2024 - which ended up with an invite into the Athlos NYC- a professional, female-only track and field meeting series - only hid in the background years of toiling through campus in the United States.

Surprisingly, it was only in May last year when Ejore, who moved to the US through scholarship in 2015, ran her first sub-four 1500m race.

A year later, she is on the verge of representing her country in another global event.

“I am so happy to make Team Kenya once again,” Ejore, who trains in Arizona, said after making the Tokyo team. "My expectations were to execute the race, and get the top two automatic positions since I had the time.

Really excited to have this opportunity, it is always nice to represent Kenya, a country that has given me so much.”

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Reflecting on the year that was, the Nakuru native said her prospects in Tokyo were on better standing, given her gained highlighted experience.

“I run against the same people over and over,” she said. “Right now I have experience and more confidence. I am ready to go there and put myself in the mix.”

On what success would look like, she said: “I want to be at the podium so bad. Everybody’s goal is to get a medal at the worlds.”