KAPSAIT, Kenya, May 21 – Two-time London Marathon Champion Brigid Kosgei has recovered well in time from a leg injury and will be ready to lead Kenya’s women’s marathon star-studded team for the Tokyo Olympic Games.
The 26-year-old, women’s world record holder, who is managed by the Italy-based Rosa Associati stable, is currently training at her traditional Kapsait base and has responded perfectly to a recovery regimen that included sessions with Italian physiotherapist Sebastiano Erbi who spent some time monitoring her progress at the Nike Kapsait Athletics Camp in Elgeyo Marakwet County.
“I had minor injury when I went to the half marathon (in Istanbul) but now I’m back fully fit and I will concentrate all my training at Kapsait until departure to Olympics,” Brigid said at her Kapsait camp.
Kenya’s Birgid Kosgei crosses the finish line to win the 2019 Chicago Marathon in new world record time
Having won the Chicago Marathon twice in a row in 2018 and 2019, Brigid has now set her sights in adding the prestigious Olympics gold medal in her decorated trophy cabinet.
She tested herself at April’s Istanbul half marathon, finishing fifth in 1:06:01 in a race won by compatriot and fellow Olympics-bound, world marathon champion Ruth Chepng’etich in a world record time of 1:04:02.
Brigid will be joined by Chepng’etich, 5000m Olympic champion Vivian Cheruiyot and World Half Marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir in representing Kenya in the women’s marathon event that will be held on the second last day of the games (August 7) at the Sapporo Odori Park.
Kenya will be out to defend her women’s gold title that was won by Jemima Sumgong at the 2016 Rio Olympics in Brazil.
Ruth Chepngetich the reigning world marathon champion
Team Kenya is fully funded by the government for the Olympics and Paralympic Games in Tokyo.
“This time round, things are very different. We have four guiding objectives for us as a ministry. They are athlete-centric approach, best professional skills, Strategic Stakeholder engagement and Making memories,” Rose Wachuka, Policy Advisor and the Chief of Staff Office of the Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Sports, Culture and Heritage, said in a National Olympic Committee of Kenya webinar earlier on Friday.
Brigid has signed up with Stanbic Bank Kenya as ambassador in the bank’s new brand campaign dubbed “It can be”
The “It can be” campaign seeks to empower young men and women to achieve their big dreams with the world marathon record holder being used as ambassador to motivate them.
World marathon record holder Brigid Kosgei (right) leads training partners Zena Chemutai and Geoffrey Kipsang during a track training session in Iten this week. Photo/COURTESY
-happy with training –
“My body feels good and I want to push it to the limits and see how it responds on race day. We have a training group, and among them we have pacemakers who help push our pace,” she explains.
At Kapsait, Kosgei and her coach, former Honolulu Marathon champion Eric Kimaiyo, won’t easily let the cat out of the bag on training methods.
“We are mixing endurance and speed work with long runs,” is all Kosgei could offer, in typically guarded fashion.
She is happy with the conditions in Kapsait.
“The weather in Kapsait is good. Even when it rains, we still train and even when its cold, we also train… we are used to any weather conditions here. We are also aware of the heat in Japan and that’s why we have some sessions at 4pm when the sun is still out,” she adds.
At times, Brigid and team drive for close to two hours to Iten to access quality track sessions at the Lornah Kiplagat Academy and Stadium.
She has also maintained her diet with nothing special in the build-up to Japan.
“My diet is the same and I haven’t changed anything…”
World marathon record holder Brigid Kosgei (third, right in white top) warms up with her training mates during a track training session in Iten this week. Photo/COURTESY
Brigid was motivated to run from watching fellow Kenyans rising to the podium at global competitions.
“While I was in Standard Eight, I watched the Olympic Games on television and I told myself ‘one day I’d also like to represent Kenya too,’” she said in an earlier interview.
She would run to her primary school in Kapsowar in the morning, then back home for lunch and back again to school for afternoon classes.
“My home was quite a distance from school (10 kilometres) and I never wanted to be late that’s why I used to run quite a bit,” she added in the earlier interview.
It was when Kimayo encouraged her to join the Kapsait camp and take up running seriously in 2015 that Kosgei actually considered elite running.
“I used to fear the marathon… it was not easy, and I feared that one could even die on the road,” she said.
