Eyes on Budapest for Reynold after silver in Bathurst

World Athletics (WA) Under-20 Championships 1500m gold medalist Reynold Cheruiyot says winning silver at the just-concluded Cross Country Championships held in Australia has him motivated to chase more global glory. 

Competing in his first cross country competition on the world stage, the 18-year-old who won his first global gold in Cali, Colombia last year, finished second to Ismael Kirui in the Under-20 8km. Kirui came home in 24:29, one second ahead Cheruiyot.

"Getting silver in my first time to represent the country in cross country is a huge motivation to me ahead of this season. 

When I was travelling to Bathurst, I was not that confident of a medal. It was a new experience for me, in addition to being a 1500m athlete, and that made me jittery. 

The distance, the opposition I was up against and the kind of course we had to deal with looked like insurmountable challenges but I grew into to the race. The hilly parts were my biggest challenge so it worked for me that the finish was downhill," Cheruiyot said upon return to Kenya from Australia. 

With the teenager ineligible to compete in the Peru World Under-20 Championship as they will be held barely three weeks after his 20th birthday, he has shifted his focus to the senior level. 

"Bathurst was probably my last Under-20 competition. My focus is now on track competition as I prepare for the World Championships. I will seek to make Team Kenya to Budapest then work on reclaiming the title," he offered. 

As he begins his preparations for track competition, Cheruiyot revealed that he will be skipping the Athletics Kenya (AK) Track and Field weekend meetings and opt for the WA Continental Tour. 

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"The selection process for Team Kenya in the senior category is very competitive so as I make my switch, I know what I have to content with to make the squad to Budapest. 

The trials themselves are a hurdle I have to successfully deal with, in addition to meeting the qualifying time and all set WA guidelines before preparing for the challenge in Budapest," Cheruiyot opined adding that his biggest rival in the race for a place in the team will be Abel Kipsang.