Reynold Cheruiyot out to soothe Budapest heartbreak with Olympics medal

ATHLETICS Reynold Cheruiyot out to soothe Budapest heartbreak with Olympics medal

Abigael Wafula 15:33 - 11.09.2023

He was competing in the men’s 1500m in Budapest and went ahead to finish a distant eighth in a time of 3:30.78.

19-year-old Reynold Cheruiyot went into the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary with the hope of making a mark on the global stage but he unfortunately was unsuccessful in attaining his target.

He was competing in the men’s 1500m and went ahead to finish a distant eighth in a time of 3:30.78. He believes bagging a medal at next year’s Olympic Games in Paris will compensate for his loss at the World Championships.

“When I exited the World Championships my mind automatically shifted to the Olympic Games. My main goal will be to bring a medal back home.

"At the World Championships, we struggled a lot and failed to bring a medal in the men’s 1500m and our medal haul was very low. We shall be going for revenge,” Cheruiyot said.

Team Kenya was represented by Abel Kipsang, Timothy Cheruiyot, and Reynold who failed to live up to the billing.

Kipsang and Reynold made it to the final but failed to finish in the podium bracket while Rotich and Timothy failed to make it to the final after fizzling out in the semifinal.

Cheruiyot has been warming up for the Olympics by participating in the Diamond League Meetings and only one leg is remaining, the final in Eugene, USA where he will also be competing.

He was in action at the Diamond League Meeting in Brussels competing in the 2000m where he finished second in a national record time of 4:48.14.

He finished behind Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen who set a world record time of 4:43.13 over the distance. He recounted that the race was not a walk in the park and the fact that he was seeking points to qualify for the final, he was forced to put in more effort.

“I was under pressure to get more points in the race and I had to work hard until I finished second. The race was very tactical but I did not struggle a lot because I have competed in the 5000m before,” he said.