Chepchirchir sends tongues wagging with victory in Italy
Kenya’s Nelly Chepchirchir trains at Kasarani.
What you need to know:
- The coach said that she was brought to her attention by Jepkosgei who saw her talent and he took her in and she has never disappointed because she has grown gradually especially from junior transiting to the senior category.
- “She is still young and I believe that she will be able to achieve more because her training has been consistent and she is a disciplined athlete,” he added.
Nelly Chepchirchir stormed into victory in the 800m race at the Grifone Meeting in Italy where she clocked the world lead time this season of 1:58.23 last weekend.
Is she the next big thing in the distance? Is she fitting into her coach Janeth Jepkosgei's shoes? And what do you think about the combination of the reigning Commonwealth Games champion Mary Moraa and Chepchirchir?
These are some of the questions that have risen after Chepchirchir’s superb performance in the race where she comfortably won.
She is a calm athlete who will take instructions keenly from her superiors and coaches and her style of running is unique in itself and associated with long strides.
During the race, Chepchirchir stuck with the pacemaker and she managed to maintain the pace to the finish line clocking 1:58.23 with Italy’s Eloisa Coiro coming in second 2:00.80 while Spanish Lorea Ibarzabal was third in 2:01.73.
In an interview with Nation Sport on phone from France, Chepchirchir revealed that she was aiming to run under 2 minutes, but she was equally surprised to clock world lead time which of course made her happy.
“After emerging second at the Kip Keino Classic in 1,500m race, I’m glad my training has paid and running a world lead time in the 800m race is just a surprise for me and I want to continue working hard and even achieve better results in the forthcoming races,” said Chepchirchir.
She will be competing in the 1,500m race on Wednesday at the Montreuil International Meeting in France a Continental Silver Tour which is part of her build up towards the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
After that she will be heading to FBK Games, a World Athletics Continental Gold Tour in the Netherlands on June 4 where she will also be competing in the 1,500m race.
“I’m looking up to my mentor Janeth Jepkosgei who has been inspiring me and my goal is to even supersede what she achieved during her career and I’m happy because she is always there to push me to get where I want to be,” added Chepchirchir.
She is still not yet sure which race she will be competing at the national trials but she is confident that she will be able to represent Kenya during the World Championships.
In 2021, she tried her luck to represent Kenya at the World Under-20 Championships that was held in Nairobi but wasn't successful after missing a slot, but in 2022 she was lucky to represent Kenya during the World Under-20 Championships in Cali, Colombia where she emerged fourth in the 800m race.
According to her coach Claudio Berarrdeli, Chepchirchir is a super talented athlete who is still young and has to be nurtured to go places in the world of athletics.
He said that he was surprised to see her clocking the world lead time which is sure that might not stay for a long period because the season has started and many athletes are running faster.
“Chepchirchir has impressed in her running recently and I’m glad that she is picking up well and she has talent. Her running style is also striking and she is an athlete who needs distance from the other athletes due to her long running strides,” said Berarrdelli.
The coach said that she was brought to her attention by Jepkosgei who saw her talent and he took her in and she has never disappointed because she has grown gradually especially from junior transiting to the senior category.
“She is still young and I believe that she will be able to achieve more because her training has been consistent and she is a disciplined athlete,” he added.
