Ferdy fired up for Tokyo comeback
'2024 was a good season. A season of learning'
2mon agoNANCY AGUTUAthletics
Timothy Cheruiyot, the 2020 Olympic 1500m silver medallist, hopes to sign off from his speciality when he parades at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo, Japan.
Cheruiyot has been among the top athletes in the discipline over the past decade and hopes to upgrade to long distances-and road racing after Tokyo.
The 29-year-old’s resume includes a World Championships silver medal from London 2017 in 3:33.99 behind compatriot Elijah Manang’oi ( 3:33.61 ).
He went one better in Doha 2019 to clinch the title in 3:29.26 ahead of Algeria’s Taoufik Makhloufi ( 3:31.28 ) and Poland’s Marcin Lewandowski ( 3:31.46 ).
He won an Olympic silver medal at the Tokyo 2020 Games in 3:29.01 behind Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen ( 3:28.32 ).
Cheruiyot is a five-time Diamond League title holder and has two Commonwealth Games silver medals: Gold Coast 2018 ( 3:35.17 ) and Birmingham 2022 ( 3:30.21 ).
He holds two African Championships silver medals — Durban 2016 ( 3:39.71 ) and Nigeria 2018 ( 3:35.93 ).
“My plan is to post good results at the 2025 World Championships. This will be my last 1500m after having done it for 10 years,” Cheruiyot remarked.
“I will switch to 5000m or 10000m and then the marathon,” he said, adding that he has several 10km races lined up for 2024 as he prepares for his transition.
“I have not done any road race before but I am hoping to test it next year before Tokyo. I will look for a 10km race to gauge my body,” he added.
In preparation for his sixth appearance at the World Championships, Cheruiyot hopes to formulate a game plan alongside his coach, Bernard Ouma.
“I need to sit down with my coach and plan well on the races I will participate in in preparations for the World Championships,” he said.
Cheruiyot made his global debut at the Beijing 2015 World Championships, finishing seventh in 3:36.05. He claimed silver in 2017 and gold in 2019 before enduring mixed fortunes in recent years.
At Eugene 2022, he placed sixth in 3:30.69. It got bad in Budapest 2023 after sustaining an injury that ruled him out for nine months.
However, he made significant strides upon recovery, even “surprising” himself with a ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“This season was good for me. Despite tearing both my tendons last year, I am happy I came back strong,” he said. “I started my training later than anyone. Making it to the Olympics surprised me, I did not run with confidence at the trials,” Cheruiyot added.
In Paris, Cheruiyot clocked 3:31.35 to finish 11th in a race won by Cole Hocker ( 3:27.65 ). Josh Kerr ( 3:27.79 ) and Yardf Nuguse ( 3:27.80 ) completed the podium.
