NAIROBI, Nov.6 (Xinhua) -- New York marathon champion Joyciline Jepkosgei says she is not a favorite to make Kenya team to the Tokyo Olympics games.
The 25-year-old Kenyan proved her critics wrong when she won in New York last week beating her mentor Mary Keitany.
However, Jepkosgei, who clocked an impressive time of 2:22:38 feels she lacks the experience to be considered favorite to make the elusive Kenya marathon team for the Tokyo Games.
Though she looks forward to making her debut at the Olympics, Jepkosgei feels there are stronger rivals and it will take the coaches to have a leap of faith in her potential to grant her wish. "Olympic Games are firmly in my dreams. I want to shift the focus to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics," Jepkosgei said on Wednesday.
With only three slots up for grabs for Kenya, there are over 50 athletes who have run fast enough to claim a spot in the team to the Olympics.
The global athletics governing body IAAF has set the qualifying time for marathon at 2:29:30 for women.
But Kenya has a chocking field to select from led by Frankfurt marathon champion Valary Aiyabei who clocked the 12th fastest time of all time of 2:19:10, Vivian Cheruiyot (2:18:31), Gladys Cherono (2:18:11), world champion Ruth Chepng'etich (2:17:08 fifth fastest) and world marathon record holder Brigid Kosgei (2:14:04).
Speaking in Eldoret when she returned from New York, Jepkosgei blamed injuries that delayed her debut in the marathon when she had to withdraw from the Hamburg marathon in April, and also faced a similar fate for the Honolulu marathon in December 2018.
She, however, agreed to run as a pacesetter for the London marathon, which was won by Kosgei. "The decision to take up the challenge of running as a pacemaker in London, where I run up to 30km was what tilted the scales on what it takes to complete the ultimate 42km distance," said Jepkosgei on Wednesday.
"It helped me to gain valuable lessons despite not finishing the race. I implemented the same strategy together with following the coach's instruction in New York and I was happy to win."
Jepkosgei says her win in New York has helped settle goosebumps she had over the ultimate distance. "I was nervous when my entry was accepted for the New York marathon. My target was to finish the race because I was competing against some of the best talent in the world. I wasn't expecting to win, but post good performance," she said.
She ended up beating defending champion Mary Keitany (2:23:32) by over a minute to clock 2:22:38, which was just seven seconds off the course record set way back in 2003 by Kenya's Margaret Okayo.
Her performance has now left critics dreaming of how fast she can run the marathon and another test in London or Boston in April will prove if Jepkosgei is ready for the Olympics, or she will have to wait another four years to live the dream.
