The 2008 Beijing 5,000m Paralympics bronze medallist Henry Wanyoike is hopeful of making his mark at the 2012 London Olympics that gets underway next month.

Speaking at the 13th edition of the Safaricom Lewa Marathon over the weekend, Wanyoike also revealed that he is going to double in the 5000m and 42km races. "The training has been so good so far," said Wanyoike. "We are currently concentrating on speed work since we have been doing a lot of long runs. "I will use the 5,000m to improve my speed work for the full marathon,"

Wanyoike said he habours high hopes of clinching Paralympics gold medal to complement his world record status. Wanyoike holds world records in the 5,000m and 10,000m races and winning a gold medal will be the epitome of his career. "This is the time to go for it (gold medal)," said Wanyoike.

The Paralympics team leaves the country in early August, way after their able-bodied counterparts will have participated in the Games between July 3 and July 14. Wanyoike said running in Lewa gives him the challenge of running on rough terrain as opposed to the other races which are run on the road or on the track. "It is a good course since it has uphills. It's very dusty and it's a bit hot as compared to other altitudes," said Wanyoike. He observed that the Lewa marathon is one of the most significant community run event, owing to the number and calibre of projects it funds.