|
NAIROBI, Feb. 5-- 1500m world champion Elijah Manangoi of Kenya will launch his World Indoor Tour campaign on Tuesday in Dusseldorf, Germany. Manangoi, who has only raced in cross country since his win in London in August, is hopeful he will be strong enough to dominate in Germany. He will be targeting the remaining four rounds of the IAAF World Indoor tour in the hope of nailing down a spot in the Kenyan team for the rest of the season. The World Indoor Championships will be held in Birmingham, England from March 1-4. "I am ready for the action. It is a challenge to compete in the Indoor circuit, which is short and [has] sharp corners but I have prepared well, done my endurance [training] and now [I'm] ready to take on the boys in Germany," Manangoi said on Monday. Organizers of the meeting in Dusseldorf have also invited Sam Kendricks of the United States, an addition that will mean 11 medalists from the 2017 IAAF World Championships will be competing. Manangoi, who won the world 1500m title last August, returns to Dusseldorf seeking a third straight victory in this event. "I won in Dusseldorf before and hopefully, it will go well for me this time around," he added. Kendricks meanwhile, who ended a sensational 2017 season unbeaten in 17 competitions, will headline the pole vault where he'll face Poland's European indoor champion Piotr Lisek. The men's 800m will feature a battle between Poland's perennial threat Adam Kszczot and rising Kenyan star Kipyegon Bett, who raced to silver and bronze medals respectively in London last August. | 
