Olympic 3,000m steeplechase bronze medallist, Faith Cherotich, will kick off her 2025 season at the Doha Diamond League in Qatar on Friday.
Currently ranked third in the world, Cherotich, 20, has been training in Kaptagat, Elgeyo Marakwet County, but is based at Kalyet Athletics Camp in Kericho County.
She says the move has already paid dividends as she prepares to take on a highly competitive field in her first international race of the year.
"I want to make it better this season, and the race on Friday will help me work on a few areas ahead of the World Athletics Championships trials in August," said Cherotich in an interview with Nation Sport on Tuesday before her departure for Qatar.
Cherotich ended her 2024 season on a high by clinching the Diamond League trophy. She has since built on that momentum with strong performances in various local cross-country events.
Now, all eyes will be on her as she takes on some of the world’s best, including World and Olympic champion, Kenyan-born Bahraini, Winfred Yavi.
"My training session has been good and I’m looking forward to a beautiful race on Friday despite the stiff competition. My target is to finish the race on the podium, and being that it is my first international race this year, I will be using it to gauge my fitness,” Cherotich added.
She noted that the results in Doha will help guide her training focus over the next three months in preparation for the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo this September.
“When I competed in 2023, I was still a student in Form Four, and I didn’t have enough time to prepare for the global event. But this year I have all the time to arm myself properly because it’s not easy—and I’m targeting to bring the gold medal home,” she said.
Cherotich claimed bronze at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, while compatriot Beatrice Chepkoech taking silver and Winfred Yavi winning gold. She now hopes to upgrade her medal in Tokyo.
The last time Kenya won gold in the women’s 3,000m steeplechase was in 2019, when Beatrice Chepkoech triumphed at the Doha World Championships.
Since then, Kenyan-born athletes representing other countries have dominated. In 2022, Kazakhstan's Norah Jeruto took gold at the Oregon World Championships in the US, while Yavi did the same in 2023.
Cherotich is optimistic about her new training environment, which includes sharing a camp with one of her idols—three-time Olympic 1,500m champion, Faith Kipyegon.
"Changing my training base has no big difference, but I’m happy that I am now training with one of the great athletes who have always inspired me—Faith Kipyegon,” said Cherotich.
Her coach, Bernard Rono, said their primary focus remains the World Championships, with Doha serving as a valuable checkpoint.
“Even as she heads to Doha, we are focusing on a bigger picture, and that is to train and remain focused ahead of the global event. The race is going to help us understand what we need to improve in the next three months,” said Rono.
Apart from Yavi, Cherotich will face stiff competition from Uganda’s Peruth Chemutai, Ethiopia’s Sembo Almayew, Kenyan-born Kazakhstan sisters Norah Jeruto and Daisy Jepkemei, and Kenyan-born Romanian Stella Rutto, among others.
