The 2023 world 10,000 metres silver medallist, Daniel Simiu, has declared that he is ready to compete for a place in Team Kenya, and to represent the country again in championship races, setting the stage for his return to the team.
A year ago, Simiu, 30, vowed that he would never represent Kenya after missing out on a place in the squad for the 2024 Olympic Games. Simiu had been scheduled to compete in men’s 10,000m race in the 2024 Prefontaine Classic Diamond League Meeting in, Eugene, United States of America, and Athletics Kenya had announced it would use the race to select the Kenyan team for the 2024 Olympic Games.
Simiu’s trip to the USA was nearly aborted at the last minute owing to delays in securing a travel visa. Disappointed and exhausted, he arrived in Oregon hours to the championships. The 2022 Commonwealth Games 10,000m and 2023 world half-marathon silver medallist, who was the overwhelming favourite, finished a distant eighth as Daniel Mateiko, Nicholas Kimeli and Bernard Kibet claimed the first three slots. Many thought Simiu, who was pre-race favourite, would get a wild card, but Athletics Kenya stuck with Mateiko, Kimeli and Kibet. The decision was met with anger from local athletics fans, and Simiu vowed never to represent Kenya again.
Kenya's Daniel Simiu celebrates with the flag after winning silver in the men's half marathon race at the inaugural World Road Running Championships in Riga, Latvia on October 1, 2023.
Photo credit: Elias Makori | Nation Media Group
Kenya failed to win a medal in the men’s 10,000m race at the Paris Olympics, with Kibet, who was the best-placed Kenyan, finishing fourth. Kibet has been serving a provisional suspension since July for violating anti-doping rules.
When Simiu won his maiden Kenya Police Cross Country Championships last year, he expressed his displeasure at what he termed “lack of recognition by government” despite winning several international accolades.
Pained by Kenya’s failure to win a medal at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo in September, Simiu has declared his readiness to represent Kenya again.
“There comes a time when the fire inside a runner burns too strongly to be contained. For me, that time is now,” Simiu in a statement.
“I have carried the weight of watching my beloved country, Kenya, miss out on a medal in the 10,000m, an event that has always been our pride, our heritage, and our heartbeat. Each time the podium stood without our flag raised high, I felt a deep pain, not just as an athlete, but as a son of this land that has given the world many champions,” Simiu added.
He will attempt to retain his National Cross Country Championships title in Eldoret on Saturday. Should he succeed, it will be his third consecutive national title, and it will come with automatic qualification to compete in the 2026 World Cross Country Championships scheduled for January 10, next year in Tallahassee, Florida, USA.
Athletics Kenya will use Saturday’s championship to pick the national team for the world event in Florida, where the country hopes to reclaim senior men’s titles after nine years.
Iten's Daniel Simiu celebrates winning the men's Athletics Kenya Cross Country Series at the People's Park in Machakos on November 28, 2020.
Photo credit: File | Chris Omollo | Nation Media Group
Geoffrey Kamworor was the last Kenyan to win the men’s world title when he triumphed in 2017 in Kampala. Simiu will lead the Kenya Police Service team to Eldoret.
Simiu, who turned 30 on September 18, has also adopted a new outlook, going by his Facebook posts.
“No fancy hairstyle, no partying, no nightclubs, not in competition with anyone in any way or form. Call me old-fashioned, but that’s where I belong,” he declared on his Facebook page on September 3.
Kenya Police Service coach Isaac Kirwa said Simiu is his team that has been training for the last two weeks in Iten, Elgeyo Marakwet County, ahead of the national event.
Daniel Simiu celebrates winning the men's 10,000m race during the Absa Kip Keino Classic at Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani on May 13, 2023.
Photo credit: Chris Omollo | Nation Media Group
“We are glad to have him in our team. Hopefully, he will make it to the world cross country championships,” coach Kirwa said yesterday. Simiu made his World Cross-Country debut with Kenya in the 2023 edition in Bathurst, Australia, where he finished sixth in a race won by Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo.
The team also has the newly crowned Kenya Police Service Cross Country champion Naibei Kiplimo, the world under-20 cross country champion Ishmael Kipkurui, who has scaled to the senior level, Titus Kiprotich and Robert Kiprop.
