Kenya's Kamworor to focus on Diamond League challenge

World Half Marathon champion Geoffrey Kamworor will now target winning the IAAF Diamond League meeting, which starts in Doha on May 4.

Last year, the Kenyan waived all marathon commitments to focus on the World Championships and will also use similar plans as he seeks to improve his timing in the 5,000m and 10,000m races, which he will contest during the premier track and field competition, reports Xinhua news agency.

Kamworor, the 2015 Beijing 10,000m silver medallist, said he intends to run a fast time and boost his speed before returning to New York in November to defend the marathon title.

"I have no intentions to run any marathon in the next three months. I want to use this season's Diamond League Series to clock faster times which will help in speed work. The idea is to clock fast time and secure qualification to the 2019 World Championships in Doha," Kamworor told Xinhua on Wednesday in Nairobi.

Kenya has a rich reservoir in the long distance races, and Kamworor is not naive about the scale of the challenge ahead. "When I go back to training, I will be concentrating on track events in 5,000m and 10,000m," he said.

--IANS

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