Jepkesho ready to spring Olympics surprise

Paris Marathon champion Visiline Jepkesho was as stunned as everyone else when she was confirmed in the women’s marathon team for Rio 2016 but that has only given her motivation to chase history in Brazil.

It has been a blissful year for the 28 year-old who met her country’s President, Uhuru Kenyatta twice in a week following her 2:25:53 victory in the streets of Paris on April 3 during the 40th running of the event.

Jepkesho believes her top performance at Paris booked her ticket to Rio alongside London champion Jemima Sumgong and Worlds silver medallist; Helah Kiprop ahead of multiple World Marathon Majors winners Mary Keitany and Florence Kiplagat who are on the reserve list.

“I was very excited to be named in the Olympics team and it is a big opportunity for me. I would like to bring home the gold or any other medal.

“When the team was named, I thought I was a reserve until I came into terms that I was named ahead of Keitany and Kiplagat who are more experienced than me,” she told Citizen Digital.

“It really motivated me because that means my hard work was paying off. It’s not easy making it to the Olympics team with the type of competition Kenya has,” the Kenya Prisons wardress added.

Her Team Kenya debut ended in a disappointing 20th (2:36:17) at the 2015 Beijing World Championships and has since learnt where she went wrong and is working on it with the hot temperatures in Rio not a bother.

“I shall approach the Olympics race tactically because someone might surprise you. I love running in hot weather,” she went on.

“If I win the gold medal I shall dedicate it to Catherine Ndereba who is my mentor and she has inspired me to be whom I would like to follow her footsteps and I would love to just be like her. She is the reason why am where I am and it makes me happy,” she said in excitement.

Ndereba, a two-time Olympics silver medallist and two-time world champion at the distance is also her boss at Kenya Prisons.

During the Paris Marathon President Uhuru was on a state visit to France and asked to meet with the team at his Hotel and later he hosted the team at State House when they returned home.

“When I met with the president, I was speechless. I just shook his hands. I listened to him congratulate and advice us. The President understands athletes and appreciates honest runners. He also wished us success in Rio Olympics and I would not like to fail him,” she asserted.

Rio will be Jepkesho’s seventh marathon start in an event she has won thrice in the 2014 races of Milan (2:28:40) and Lisbon (2:26:47) and Paris. She finished third at the French capital last year (2:24:44) and failed to finish at Nagoya Marathon on March 13.