Korir targets Kitur’s 31-year-old national 400m record

World and Olympic 800 metres champion Emmanuel Korir is confident that he’s well on course to meeting his target of breaking the 31-year-old national record in the 400 metres at this weekend’s Absa Kip Keino Classic.

Korir, who has been training at his US base, has been taking it easy and slowly building up towards a defence of his 800m title at August’s World Championships in Budapest.

The University of Texas – El Paso alumnus has settled for the one-lap race to also build on his speed and will be launching his 800m season at the second Diamond League meeting in Rabat, Morocco, later this month.

He exclusively told Nation Sport that he enjoys training in the US because of the better training facilities there which are essential for sprinters.

“Training went on well and I had to come back home to and acclimatize ahead of the (Absa Kip Keino Classic) race. I know it shall be competitive and with the season having started, many are seeking to run their personal best times but for me, I will be eyeing a national record in 400m if all goes well.”

Samson Kitur set the national 400m at 44.18 seconds at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games. That time remains the 38th fastest of all time.

South Africa’s Wayde Van Niekerk holds the world record at an astonishing 43.03 second set at the 2016 Olympic final in Rio de Janeiro.

Korir’s personal best time in the 400 metres is 44.21 seconds which is the 40th fastest of all time, the only Kenyans having run faster being Kitur and Charles Gitonga (44.20 in 1996).

But Korir is not happy with the state of facilities in Kenya.

“All athletes are looking forward to a better season and for us to compete and bag medals, we have to train in good facilities and it is a pity that there is no good stadium especially in the North Rift where majority come from, and that is why I decided to train in USA and wait for the last week to competition to just come and acclimatize,” said a disappointed Korir.

At the Kip Keino Classic on Saturday at Kasarani, Korir will be battling it out with USA’s Vernon Norwood, Machel Cedenio from Trinidad and Tobago, Muzala Samukonga from Zimbabwe, the famous Belgian Borlee brothers Kevin, Dylan and Jonathan Borlee and his compatriot Boniface Mweresa.

Korir stormed into victory at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, last year where he clocked one minute, 43.71 seconds ahead of Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati who clocked 1;44.14 while Canada’s Marco Arop sealed the podium in 1:44.28.

Korir’s career took shape when he represented Kenya at the World Championships in London in 2017 where he competed at the 800m race but couldn’t go past the semi-finals then with a nagging back strain.

He later competed at the Africa Championships in Asaba, Nigeria, where he bagged silver in the 800m before aiding his team to a gold medal in the 4x400m relay alongside Jared Momanyi, Alphas Kishoyan and Aaron Koech.