NAIROBI, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- Two-time marathon champion Edna Kiplagat and Olympic 5,000m silver medalist Hellen Obiri on Monday led the first batch of 20 Kenya athletes to Doha, Qatar, ready for the World Championships, which starts on Friday.
The team comprises mostly sprinters, 10,000m squad and women's marathon team. The last team to leave for Doha will be men's marathon team which departs on October 2.
Head coach Julius Kirwa expressed confidence that the team will hold off rising challenge from Ethiopia and the United States to reclaim the overall title in the global premier track and field competition. A total of 7,530,000 U.S. dollars will be for grabs in prize money alongside an additional $100,000 for every world record set.
"There is real threat to Kenya's dominance. But that is what we expect each year because this type of competition always produces the best out of these athletes. Kenya will weather the storm and dominate the championships," Kirwa said on Monday in Nairobi.
The Kenya team to Doha had women marathon stars Ruth Chepng'etich, Kiplagat and Visiline Jepkesho. Others are 10,000m runners Rhonex Kipruto, Rodgers Kwemoi, Alex Oloitiptip, Agnes Tirop, Hellen Obiri and Rosemary Wanjiru. The sprinters are Alphas Kishoyian, Emmanuel Korir, Mary Moraa and Hellen Syombua.
Moraa has recovered from bout of Malaria and she is hopeful to win the country its first medal in the sprints in modern world championships.
"It has been a while since we had a Kenyan winning in sprints especially in women races. I hope to the change," she said.
Kirwa pointed out the sacrifice that Nicholas Bett made when he raced to Kenya's first gold medal in the sprints at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, China. He said the sprinters must use such performances to inspire themselves.
"We need them to step up and fill the void left by Bett. Olympic javelin silver medalist Julius Yego has also proved he is a worthy opponent when he is injury-free. He won gold in Beijing in the javelin and he will be at his best in Doha after he showed he has shaken the injury off, winning in the Africa Games," said Kirwa.
However, Kirwa said they hope Moraa will get back to her feet after she was diagnosed with a bout of malaria. Moraa missed the Africa Games medal by a whisker as she came in fourth in Rabat, Morocco last month.
After some minor injury setbacks earlier in the season, reigning world and Olympic 1,500m champion Faith Kipyegon displayed solid form and is among the medal hopefuls in Doha.
