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World Cross Country champion Hellen Obiri has said Kenyan athletes could have done better in the World Cross Country Championships in Aarhus, Denmark on Saturday had Team Kenya officials visited and surveyed the course well in advance.
Obiri said that the hilly course at the landmark Moesgaard Museum grounds in Aahurs came as a surprise to the team which had only concentrated on the usual training tactics.
“We prepared well but only for a normal cross country race and not what we faced Moesgaard Museum grounds,” Obiri said. “We did the normal hill work training in residential camp in Kigari, which was basically jogging and not intense hill running.”
“The only problem is that our team management didn’t take time to get details or even travel to Aarhus to survey the course. Our training could have been different from what we are used to doing,” said Obiri.
Obiri, the Commonwealth and Africa 5,000m champion explained that the survey should have been done way in November last year before the local series that should have been tailored to suit the conditions in Aarhus.
“I’m sure our opponents, especially from Ethiopia and Uganda, were familiar with the conditions on Aarhus,” Obiri, who described her maiden appearance at the World Cross Country Championships in Aarhus as her toughest race in her career, said.
“One simply didn’t have time to rest. From the sloping sections, one tackled the muddy and watery section before going up the hill again,” said Obiri.
Obiri said that going through ‘houses’ in the race was mind-boggling and a new experience.
“It feels great to win. This victory was sweet but I don’t think if I will ever compete in a World Cross Country Championship again. This is enough,” said Obiri, who explained that staying ahead of the Ethiopians while approaching the hills gave her an edge. “I knew they were strong uphill hence I had to stay head of them.”
Obiri said that she will take a rest before resuming training as she targets to defend her World 5,000m title at the World Championships in Doha in October.
“I will compete in the Diamond League leg at Prefontaine Classic before the World event,” said Obiri, the 2016 Rio Olympics 5,000m silver medallist, who will then switch gears to 10,000m ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games.
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