Nairobi — As he prepares for his second successive World Championships, Kenya's Leonard Bett admits that God has brought him this far in his young career.
The 22-year-old believes he is due a first-ever medal at the senior level and is holding on to Jeremiah 29:11 as his source of inspiration as he continues his preparations for the championships on August 19-27.
"The verse that I have been reading and meditating on is Jeremiah 29:11 in which God says that 'I know the plans I have for you...plans to prosper you and not for evil'. I believe that God has great plans for us and it is this verse that I am going with to the World Championships," the 2018 World Under 18 3000m steeplechase silver medalist said.
Bett describes himself as a spiritually-motivated athlete who confesses he has always trusted in his Maker to keep him clear of any obstacles on his rise to the peak as one of Kenya's top runners in the 3000m steeplechase.
However, he adds that faith without action is dead.
"I thank God so much because His time is always the best. I thank God for the good health and strength He has given us. But, everything comes with hard work. The spiritual part cannot work alone if you don't work hard. You know you need to work hard and God is going to do His part and everything will be okay," he said.
Bett further advised upcoming athletes to remain consistent in their training and discipline if they are to remain long in the sport and soar to the highest heights.
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"It is all about preparations ... training should be consistent. You may need to partition your training. You need to do the strength part, the speed part and the technical one as well," he said.
The water-and-barrier race will be one to watch for Kenyans as the trio of Bett, Commonwealth Games champion Abraham Kibiwot and the 2021 World Under 20 bronze medalist Simon Koech attempt to reclaim the country's longstanding dominance in the race.
Moroccan Soufiane El Bakkali holds the world and Olympics titles - a feat achieved after many years of struggle during which Kenya had dominated the race at major international events.
Bett acknowledged that he feels the pain of millions of Kenyans, noting that he is spending a lot of time on his knees in prayer even as he ups the ante in training.
"We know that Kenyans really want us to fight for this title because it has been our area of domination. We are praying fervently that God may give us strength on that day so we can win it back even as we do our part in training. So let our fellow Kenyans also pray for us as we work hard to bring the victory," he said.
The Bomet-born runner clocked 8:26.99 seconds to finish third in the men's 3000m steeplechase at the national trials for the World Championships at Nyayo Stadium over the weekend.
In first place was Koech who stopped the timer at 8:22.55 as Kibiwot came second in 8:26.45.
