NAIROBI, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- World junior 10,000m champion Rhonex Kipruto of Kenya believes he has the capacity to emulate his mentor Paul Tergat and claim the World Cross Country title.
Kipruto, 20, is hopeful of overcoming the disappointment of missing out on Kenya's team for the 2017 World Cross Country Championships.
He has shown his talent by winning local and international events, the latest being the Discovery Cross Country Championships held in Eldoret.
Now he has put his rivals on notice that he is ready to stake his claim in the Kenya team and aim for the 2019 World Cross Country Championships in Aarhus, Denmark on March 30.
"I have a title in the Africa Cross Country Championships and my focus now is to win a world title in the race. It will be an uphill task but I believe in my training, my strength and my strategy," Kipruto said on Monday in Eldoret.
However, there is the small matter of making the Kenya team, with the selection expected to be held in Eldoret next month, the first time it has been staged away from Nairobi.
"It is always a challenge to win a place in the Kenya team. But I am determined and I will use the regional cross country event this weekend to fine-tune before the national selections on February 23," said Kipruto.
"There are talented Ugandans coming through the ranks. They train with us in Kenya and follow our disciplined routine. But I have to be smart and plan well," added Kipruto.
Uganda, Bahrain, Qatar and the Netherlands have their athletes pitching camp in Iten for training and will pose a great challenge to Kenyan and Ethiopian dominance.
Last year, Kipruto started the season with a brief cross-country campaign, during which he won the African U20 cross-country title in Chlef, Algeria, and also scooped the UAE Healthy Kidney 10km race in New York in a time of 27:08, the fastest ever by an under-20 athlete. He closed the season winning gold at the World Junior Championships in Finland.
His preparations for 2019, his first year in the senior ranks, are already underway, having won a couple of high-quality domestic cross-country races in Kenya.
