Kemboi eyeing gold in his last Commonwealth Games
PHOTO | AFP Ezekiel Kemboi celebrates after winning the men's 3000 metres steeplechase final at the 2013 IAAF World Championships at the Luzhniki stadium in Moscow on August 15, 2013.
What you need to know:
- It will be Kemboi’s fourth appearance at the Commonwealth Games, where the 32-year-old athlete from Kapsowar, Marakwet, has won three medals — one gold and two silvers.
- Kemboi — who has won two Olympic titles from the 2004 Athens and 2012 London Games — would go for victory at the 2006 Melbourne Games.
- He has a personal best of 7:55.76 set in July 2011 and hinted early this year that he could attempt breaking Shaheen's World Record of 7:53.63 set in 2004.
Olympic and World 3,000m steeplechase champion Ezekiel Kemboi will be hoping to claim his second gold medal in the Commonwealth Games when he features in what will be his last appearance at the Club Games due July 23 to August 3 in Glasgow, Scotland.
It will be Kemboi’s fourth appearance at the Commonwealth Games, where the 32-year-old athlete from Kapsowar, Marakwet, has won three medals — one gold and two silvers.
The celebrated athlete made his first appearance at the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Games, where he finished outside the medals bracket but would win silver at the 2002 Manchester Games, where he lost to fellow countryman Stephen Cherono, who is now running for Qatar as Saeed Shaheen.
VICTORY IN MELBOURNE
Kemboi — who has won two Olympic titles from the 2004 Athens and 2012 London Games — would go for victory at the 2006 Melbourne Games.
But the athlete, who has also won three World titles from the 2009 Berlin, 2011 Daegu and 2013 Moscow, was to lose his title to another Kenyan, Richard Mateelong, at the 2010 Delhi Games as he settled for silver.
“This will be my last Commonwealth Games and I want to do it in style by reclaiming the title,” said Kemboi, who is the overall Team Kenya captain for the Glasgow Games.
“This is the third consecutive time I have been appointed the overall team captain and I need to repay that honour with victory.”
Kemboi, who also has three silver medals from the World Championships (2003 Paris, 2005 Helsinki, 2007 Osaka), is the only other athlete besides his coach, Moses Kiptanui, to have won a hat trick of titles from the World Championships.
The 32-year-old steeplechaser has left many guessing about what his next race will be after hanging his steeplechase spikes. He had hinted before on crossing over to marathons but rescinded his decision after winning his second Olympic gold medal at the 2012 London Games on his way to winning his third World gold last year in Moscow.
He has a personal best of 7:55.76, set in July 2011, and hinted early this year that he could attempt breaking Shaheen's World Record of 7:53.63 set in 2004.
