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800m warhorse Ferguson Rotich seeks comeback
Ferguson Rotich after competing in the 400 metres race during Athletics Kenya South Rift Track and Field championships held at William Ole Ntimama stadium in Narok county on June 10, 2023.
What you need to know:
- He boasts of a bronze medal from the 2019 Doha World Athletics Championships, and a 4x800m relay gold at the 2014 Nassau Games.
It's a World Athletics Championships year and athletes are literally racing against time to hit the qualifying marks for this year’s biennial showdown in Tokyo on September 13-21.
The Kip Keino Classic on May 31 is just one of several World Athletics-sanctioned meetings that will offer contestants a chance to secure the mandatory qualification to participate in the game’s showpiece event.
One man looking to hit the mark needs no introductions. The 2020 Olympic Games 800m silver medallist Ferguson Rotich is a seasoned competitor but has been bogged down by a series of injuries over the past two years.
On the mend, he has been entered in the Kip Keino 800m men’s race and will be making his sixth appearance in this continental Gold Tour meet.
In an interview with Nation Sport after a training session in Kericho yesterday the seasoned Olympiad exuded confidence of making a comeback.
“I’m feeling good so far, especially after competing at the Grand Prix in Botswana last month where basically I was gauging myself and I believe I will have a good race in Nairobi.
“I want to qualify for the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo because that’s the most important thing for me right now,” said Rotich.
The 36-year-old Rotich said he suffered a muscle injury during the 2023 Budapest World Athletics Championships.
He then picked up a niggling knee injury that affected his 2024 Paris Olympic campaign as he ended up being eliminated in the semi-finals after finishing fourth in a time of 1:49.15.
Rotich, who owns a personal best time of 1:42.54, has had mixed results in the Kip Keino Classic. In 2020, he won his specialty in a time of 1:44.78, finished fourth in 2021 after timing 1:45.97.
He returned a year later but was clearly going backwards is he finished seventh in a race won by the then rising star Emmanuel Wanyonyi.
It got worse in 2023 as Rotich clocked a slowish 1:48.79. Last year he managed a third place finish.
During the Botswana Grand Prix last month which was his first international event of the season, Rotich finished in seventh position in a time of 1:47.08.
“This was a good start for me. Next will be the Kip Keino Classic,” he said with eagerness.
What does he think of David Rudisha’s long standing record of 1:40.91 set in 2012?
“Nowadays the 800m looks like a sprint and we have seen athletes running very fast but it will be tough to beat Rudisha’s record, but I know with time someone is going to lower it,” he said.
He boasts of a bronze medal from the 2019 Doha World Athletics Championships, and a 4x800m relay gold at the 2014 Nassau Games.
