Team Kenya will field athletes in every category of the event.
Team Manager Patrick Arandu is bubbling with confidence ahead of the World Cross-Country Championships slated for Saturday 18 February in Bathurst, Australia.
Arandu said the team had been training at Kigari Teachers Training College in Embu and noted that they are ready for the challenge.
The team of 28 (15 men and 13 women) pitched camp on Tuesday 10 January and have been training for close to five weeks. Kenya will be competing in the mixed relays, junior 6km women and 8km men, and the senior 10km men’s and women’s categories.
“The team is psyched up and I am confident they will perform well. They have been training since January 10 and we have athletes competing in every category,” Arandu said.
He added: “We have had a great time in Kigari and the athletes are more than ready. They want to perform well and raise the country’s flag high. Training has been very extensive. We are going there to beat the world.”
He said they are bound to face stiff competition from Ethiopians and Ugandans but Arandu was confident they are up to the task, “We are aware of what awaits us but the athletes are ready to give their best. We selected a strong team and there is no doubt that we shall bring back Kenya’s glory,” he said.
The team selected includes World Junior Cross-Country champion Beatrice Chebet and three-time World Cross-Country champion Geoffrey Kamworor. Arandu said he hopes the weather conditions will be favourable for them as they look forward to displaying spectacular performances.
The team left the country on Monday 13 February at around 1:30 a.m. and will stop over in Doha, Qatar for a rest before flying to Sydney. They will then travel by road from Sydney to Bathurst for the global show.