Nairobi — Fresh from smashing the world records, multiple Olympic champions Faith Kipyegon and Beatrice Chebet have called on the government to improve the country's training infrastructure, revealing the immense challenges they faced while preparing for their record-breaking runs.
Kipyegon, who stormed to a World Record in the women's 1500m with a time of 3:48.68 - breaking her own time by 0.36 seconds, in Eugene Oregon on Saturday, a week after the triple Olympian, came short to become the first woman in history to run a sub-four-minute mile.
"When I was preparing to go and try to be the first woman to run under four minutes, I went through a lot, I was so disappointed that Kipchoge Stadium was closed. Sometimes I feel so emotional to talk about it," said faith Kipyegon.
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She credited Eldoret University and the Moi University School of Law for providing makeshift support, saying those were the only places she could access a track.
"Elite athletes abroad have perfect facilities to train on. That's why the level of competition is high. If we had good tracks, we could perform even better," she added.
Chebet, who set a new women's 5,000m record with a time of 13:58.06, shaving more than two seconds off the previous record set by Ethiopia's Gudaf Tsegay in Eugene two years ago and now holds both world records and Olympic titles in the 5,000m and 10,000m also echoed the same concerns ahead of the World Championships in Tokyo.
"We don't request a lot. Only a track," she said. "We achieved sub-14, sub-3:49 on a murram track. Just imagine what we can do with proper ones."
Sports Cabinet Secretary Salim Mvurya said that upgrades are already underway.
"We're constructing standard tartan tracks in Kipchoge Keino, Kapsabet, Kamariny and Nyayo stadium, as well as in areas like Homa Bay," Mvurya said. "I assure you that your training will no longer be haphazard. You'll know where to train and access the best," he added.
Kipyegon closed by reminding officials that this is not a personal request, but a national one.
"It's not only for me -- it's for the young generation who look up to us. We hope one day they'll get a better place to train."
