WU20: Cheruiyot eyes success at the senior level after striking gold in Cali

Newly-crowned World U20, 1500m champion Reynold Cheruiyot has revealed that his plan is to pursue glory at the senior level preferably the World Athletics Championships and the Olympics after reigning supreme at the junior level.

Cheruiyot handed Kenya the second gold medal in the ongoing World Junior Championships in Cali, Colombia after cruising to victory in 3:35.83 on Wednesday.

He crossed the line ahead of Ermias Girma of Ethiopia who won silver in 3:37.24 and Daniel Kimaiyo who settled for bronze after stopping the clock at 3:37.43.

Cheruiyot, who was exceptional in the heats through to the final said his attention will shift to participating in the Diamond League series that he observed will shape him for the next editions of the global championships.

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The World Athletics Championships will be held next year in Budapest, Hungary between August 19-25 with the Olympics coming in the following year in Paris, France.

"My goal is to be a World and an Olympic champion in the future. I am going back to training as I want to secure titles at the senior level. Now that I have won here, there is the hunger to keep my name up there with the best. I hope, the Diamond League series will help me prepare better, " he said.

The youngster, who had to fend off pressure from the Ethiopian athlete in the final, in the meanwhile, lauded his compatriot Kimaiyo for sticking to the plan they had hatched before the race.

The athlete who admitted to have begun preparing for the race as soon after clearing his Secondary School studies further said his coach Jacob Langat had injected the winning mentality in him.

"I have been preparing for the race for long and it feels good to be a world champion. I have received support from not only my parents who were athletes in their active years but also from my coach, role model, and Kimaiyo," he disclosed.