LOL! I thought I had lost the title! Kamworor says of fall

LOL! I thought I had lost the title! Kamworor says of fall

Two-time IAAF World Half Marathon champion and reigning World Cross titleholder, Geoffrey Kipsang Kamworor has spoken of his latest global conquest in Cardiff on Saturday revealing he thought the chance of defending his crown was gone when he fell face flat at the start.

In an interview from Holland where he went for treatment in his jarred knees that were bleeding at the finish when he was picked up by an Ethiopian runner before he rejoined the lead pack and later powered from Bedan Karoki to complete an impressive 59:10 victory, Kamworor admitted the near disaster turned him sick in the stomach.

“It was tough, I nearly tumbled but thank God I managed to pick myself up and win,” the four time global champion told Citizen Digital from Netherlands on Tuesday as he prepared to make his triumphant return home.

“I got paranoid that I was going to lose and embarrass my country but then again I felt some new energy,” the double world half champion told of his heart stopping start to the race that almost altered the complexion of destiny in his well publicised battle against British double Olympics and world distance champion, Mo Farah.

Despite running with painful knees and pounding rain, Kamworor zoomed past tens of runners before making his way to the leading pack that composed of Farah and East African rivals from Ethiopia as well as his Cardiff 2016 teammates.

“Well, I wouldn’t call that bleeding. That was just a minor injury. It got a little bit tough for me but with the new energy. I found myself running past many athletes and the pain vanished with time as I made my way to the front,” he narrated.

Despite the intense internal competition among top Kenyan athletes Kamworor seems to have formed a sound relationship both on and off competition with Karoki, the man he led to the altar at both the IAAF Guiyang World Cross last year and Cardiff on Saturday, handing him his first defeat over the half marathon distance.

It echoes the great Ethiopian distance track running combination of the Kenenisa Bekele and the man who was to be known as Sileshi ‘Silver’ Sihine as a result of the former leading him to the second medal at multiple world championships and the Olympics.

-Karoki LOL!-

Gold medalist Geoffrey Kipsang Kamworor of Kenya (C), Silver medalist Bedan Karoki Muchiri of Kenya (L) and Bronze medalist Mo Farah of Great Britain (R) pose for a photo after winning the Men's half marathon during the IAAF/Cardiff University World Half Marathon Championships on March 26, 2016 in Cardiff, Wales. (Photo by Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images for IAAF)
Gold medalist Geoffrey Kipsang Kamworor of Kenya (C), Silver medalist Bedan Karoki Muchiri of Kenya (L) and Bronze medalist Mo Farah of Great Britain (R) pose for a photo after winning the Men’s half marathon during the IAAF/Cardiff University World Half Marathon Championships on March 26, 2016 in Cardiff, Wales. (Photo by Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images for IAAF)

“LOL! (Laughing Out Loud) Well, all I can say is that I am an extrovert and I’m sociable. This makes me get along with everyone very easily. But I hope ours would be better and would last for quite a long time. I would like to know what Karoki feels about this,” he stated on his relationship with the Japan based silver winner who hails from Nyahururu.

“Well I can’t comment about it,” Kamworor answered with a laugh when asked about the whereabouts of the white cap he was wearing at the start that turned into a treasured souvenir for whomever picked it up after the melee that saw the joint pre-race favourite take his tumble to the tarmac.

Soon after Kamworor fell, he was picked up by an Ethiopian something he did not expect.

“I almost cried because I don’t like seeing them win but thank God I composed myself and won,” he told of the sporting gesture that will go into the folklore of the biennial IAAF global showpiece, admitting he did not know which runner from the fierce rivals from the north who sacrificed his ambitions to help him up to his feet.

The Beijing 2015 Worlds silver medallist was not among the contingent of returning Cardiff 2016 heroes who landed home on Easter Monday since he took a detour to Netherlands to have his knees checked.

He is expected home on Wednesday to focus on preparations for a stab at Olympics glory in 10,000m having been denied the world title by Farah whom he beat to bronze at the port city that serves as the Welsh capital.

Pressed again on whether his injuries inflicted the damage that would have sagged the spirits of mere mortals, not a thoroughbred champion his is, Kamworor turned to the hardening of seasoned Kenya Police Service officers he serves with distinction when not chasing global honours.

“LOL! yes I’m a cop. The ‘wound’ is partially healed,” the genial champion who burst to prominence when he completed a resounding gun-to-tape victory in the men 8km junior race at the 2011 Punta Umbria World Cross guffawed.

Kamworor who won his first world title at the 2014 Copenhagen World Half where he ran 59:08 for glory has established himself as one of the finest multi-distance runners of his generation, running 2:10:48 for second at last year’s New York Marathon having finished third at the 2012 and 13 editions of Berlin city’s ultimate race.

Tags:

Geoffrey Kamworor Berlin Marathon Mo Farah Beijing 2015 Bedan Karoki IAAF World Half Marathon New York Marathon IAAF World Cross Country Championships IAAF World Championships in Athletics Cardiff 2016 Punta Umbria 2011

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