2023 African U20 10,000m race walk bronze medallist, Stephen Ndangiri, has vowed to capture the world U20 race walk title in Lima, Peru, when the championships kick off on Tuesday.
Kenya’s only previous title in this event came from Haristone Wanyonyi, who clocked 42:10.84 to triumph in Nairobi in 2021.
India’s Amit Khatri (42:17.94) and Spain’s Paul McGrath (42:26.11) rounded out the podium, leaving Kenya with a single medal in the event's history.
However, Ndangiri is optimistic he can turn around the country's fortunes during the race walk final on Thursday.
“This is my first World Championships and it's an incredible honour. I’m prepared for the challenge ahead and I hope to be in top form to deliver a strong performance,” Ndangiri remarked.
The 18-year-old will have to fend off strong opposition from Japan’s Sohtaroh Osaka who holds a personal best of 39:54.42 and his compatriot Taisei Yoshizako who has a PB of 40:39.33.
Other key competitors include Mexico’s Emiliano Barba, Australia’s Isaac Beacroft and Tunisia’s Rayen Cherni.
Ndangiri, the 2023 Kenya Prisons track and field 10,000m runner-up, is eager to make his mark after missing out on the 2022 World U20 Championships.
“I missed out on the 2022 U-20 championships after failing to make the qualifying time. I clocked 44 minutes which was outside the qualification time,” he stated.
During the 2022 World U20 Championship trials at the Nyayo Stadium, Ndangiri clocked 44:16.3 to win the race but missed the qualification time which was 43:50.00.
Turkey’s Mazlum Demir (42:36.02), Algeria’s Ismail Benhammouda (42:42.49), and Hayrettin Yildiz (43:07.95) claimed the medals in Colombia.
However, Ndangiri will walk into the Lima competition equipped with valuable experience gained from training alongside 2019 African champion Samuel Gathimba.
“I have trained with Gathimba in Nyeri. The training was quite intense but it helped me a lot in terms of improving my speed and endurance. It has helped me to drastically reduce my PB,” he noted.
Ndangiri has a personal best of 42:01.45 set during the African U20 championships in Ndola, Zambia, where he placed third, behind Ethiopia’s Misgana Wakuma (41:36.64) and Tunisia’s Oussama Farhat (41:46.79).
The young protégé’s journey began in 2022 during the Athletics Kenya track and field meetings, where he first burst onto the national scene.
“I started race walking while in primary school, where I used to represent the school in regional and national competitions,” Ndangiri noted.
“I was later on introduced to the AK series and I took part in the first weekend meeting in 2022. I competed against the likes of Gathimba which was motivational,” he added.
During the meeting, Ndangiri placed fifth with a time of 45:40.5.
Team Kenya left for Peru on Saturday night ahead of the commencement of the championships.
