NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 2 – Japan based Samuel Kibathi recovered from a tough start to clinch the men’s 5000m at the national trials for the World Under 20 Championships at Nyayo National Stadium on Saturday morning.
The junior athlete clocked 13:47.6 to cross the finish line first, ahead of South Rift’s Shadrack Rono and South region’s Nelson Mandela who timed 13:39.6 and 13:55.4 in second and third respectively.
“I struggled a bit in the beginning because I would often find myself crowded out in lane one. Whenever I tried to get onto the second lane, I encountered the same problem and so I had to bid my time,” the secondary school student from Japan said.
Kibathi described his win as redemption for last year’s trials for the same championships when he finished a disappointing eighth in the finals of the men’s 5000m.
“It (the loss) was something bewildering because in the semis I had a clocked an impressive 13:35.0.
However, in the final I clocked 13:48.0 and this was so disappointing. It is all behind me now,” Kibathi said.
With last year’s heartbreak now water under the bridge, the junior athlete has now set his focus on securing gold in Cali, Colombia on August 2-6.
“When I go there, my sole focus is to secure gold. There would be no other way to make up for the lost time. I know that the Ethiopians are our biggest challengers as Kenya and so we will have to be wary of them during the race,” Kibathi, who hails from Nyandarua county, said.
