Kenyan youngster Serem keen to follow in elder his brother’s footsteps in championship
Edmund Serem (033) leads Mathew Koskey (080) in 3000m Steeplechase during Athletics Kenya World Under 20 Trials on June 28th 2024 at Nyayo National Stadium.
As Kenyan athletes race against time to prepare for the 2024 World Athletics U20 Championships, which will be held in Lima, Peru from 27-31 August, one runner is looking to follow in his elder brother's footsteps to glory.
Men's 3,000m steeplechase runner Edmund Serem, who is also Team Kenya's captain, is keen to follow in the footsteps of his older brother Amos Serem, who graduated from the junior ranks with a gold medal in the race at the 2021 World Athletics Under-20 Championships in Nairobi.
Edmund will compete in the water and barriers race alongside his teammate Mathew Kosgei.
At the 2022 championships in Cali, Colombia, Ethiopia's Samuel Duguna and Samuel Firewu won gold and silver medals respectively, while Morocco's Salaheddine Ben Yazide took bronze.
This year, Edmund believes it is Kenya's time to win the gold medal.
Edmund, who also won silver at the African Championships, said it was time they worked together to bring home the gold.
"My brother Amos has been a source of motivation for me. When he won gold at the 2021 World Athletics Championships U20 in Nairobi, I felt happy and inspired. We have been training together and I hope it will make a difference for me," said Edmund, the last born in a family of eight.
His brother has made Team Kenya for the 2024 Olympics and that has given him more reason to keep working hard.
The 18-year-old said his motivation also came from his father, Joseph Serem, who loved athletics and encouraged him to accompany his older brother Amos to the fields for training. Uasin Gishu County.
"My father made sure that we participated in children's races, starting with the Discovery Cross Country Championships, Tuskys Cross Country and the Ndalat Gaa Isaiah Kiplagat Memorial Cross Country Championships. He loved athletics and when we got older he encouraged us to take up the 3,000m steeplechase and that is where we are now," he said.
