World Under-20 champion Chebet holding onto Olympics dream

World Under-20 5000m champion Beatrice Chebet is still holding onto her Olympics dream despite Covid-19 pandemic ravaging the athletics calendar.

Chebet is among the young athletes who were seeking to make their debut at the Tokyo Games which were scheduled to be held on July 24 – August 9 before they were postponed to the summer of 2021.

The athlete had already made the cut in the national team for Africa Cross Country Championships which were due to be held in Lome, Togo on April 8 but were also postponed due to the virus.

“I started my season well where I competed in two races in Spain (Elgoibar and Sevilla) and then went for National Cross-Country Championships where I also qualified for Africa Cross but due to the pandemic the race was called off. I was also aiming to compete in the Olympics but again it was not possible until next year,” said Chebet.

Chebet, the reigning World Junior Cross-Country champion said she is now more experienced and ready to battle it out with seniors.

“I was still young and in transition to the senior ranks, but now that I am at home, I am learning a lot from my coach and when we resume competitions, I will be more experienced. I have to be more patient unlike before when I was competing at the junior ranks,” she said.

The athlete who trains at Lemotit Camp in Londiani, Kericho County under the tutelage of Paul Kemei said she is keen to maintain her fitness levels at this period when there are no active competitions.

“I always strive to balance my training with diet. It is crucial during this period to be very careful as an athlete in order to avoid adding unnecessary weight because we will soon resume competitions,” said Chebet.