NAIROBI, June 29-- Ever since she broke on the global stage by winning gold medal at the 2017 World Indoor championships, Olympic 5,000m silver medalist Hellen Obiri has always dreamt of conquering the world in an outdoor event, London may just be her call. However, she has been categorical that winning a medal in London will be her motivation, and no attempt will be made to try to break the world record of 14:11.15 held by Ethiopian great Tirunesh Dibaba. "It is about winning gold for Kenya. We did it in 2011 in Daegu and now it is my chance to rectify that," she said. Obiri's past two indoor competitions in Istanbul (2017) and Sopot (2017) were relatively unknown and she utilized the surprise card to her advantage. However, going into the London World Championships, the Kenyan long distance runner will feel exposed as she seeks to improve on the silver she won in Rio to gold. "I feel am in top form and it can propel me to the winner's podium. It is me believing in my strides and then later focus on what the opposition has to offer to counter my strides," said Obiri. Obiri, who ran a blistering 14:18.37 at the Rome leg of the IAAF Diamond League earlier this month, will be under pressure to take over the baton from diminutive yet productive Vivian Cheruiyot who has transited to marathon. "There will always be someone to look up to. In sports you always have a mentor and Cheruiyot has done great for Kenya. I envy her. But now I have to chatter my own path to stardom and London is the first call. There will be stiff competition especially from the Ethiopians, but I am not afraid of them," Obiri said. |