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I will go for a world record, says Limo

Limo wereldkampioen 5000 mtr

Door Chris Mbaisi

After winning the 5,000m gold medal in Helsinki last August, Benjamin Limo has put world records on his agenda.
But this is not his immediate plan. “First, I am focused on the Commonwealth Games and the World Cross Country Championships next year,” he said in an interview.

Bekele
Limo said they have a date with world 5,000m bronze medallist, Craig Mottram from Australia, at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in March. “After winning gold in Helsinki, he told me he would avenge the defeat in Melbourne during the Commonwealth Games,” he said. But Limo thinks Mottram has a tall order as he (Limo) is also ready.
“I assured him that I will beat him before his home fans,” he said. Limo said he lost gold to Sammy Kipketer four years ago in Manchester and would not make a similar mistake. He admitted that the 5,000m record of 12:37.35 set by Kenenisa Bekele last year in Hengelo would be hard to beat in the near future. “The calculations of breaking the record in the event are too punishing. Doing under 60 seconds in one lap is not easy,” he confessed. He noted he was eyeing the 10,000m record, but will give it a bit of time. “I plan to switch to the 10,000m soon but first I will test myself in Grand Prix meetings,” he said

10.000 mtr
Limo said he thinks he will be ready to compete in the event at top level during the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
“But before I go to Beijing, I will ensure the record is shattered,” said Limo He said he has done his calculation and thinks with good pace-setters, the record can tumble. The current 10,000m record is held by Bekele and stands at 26:17.53. He said as long as he can get it right in the first 5,000m, a record is possible. He has already started training for the Commonwealth Games and assured Kenyans that they would be seeing him in some of the local meetings. “I want to set the pace for elite runners by featuring in local meets. We have been unfair to our home fans by not running in local meetings,” he noted.

Plaatselijke wedstrijden
He wants to change the trend of wearing designer suits during local meetings. “As athletes, we need to lead by example by featuring in this meetings. This culture of wearing suits in these meetings has to change,” he said. He said initially top athletes used to showcase their prowess locally and this helped them prepare for major championships. He said some of the reasons why the performance has plummeted is because top athletes have ignored local meets.”We tend to forget where we came from after shinning in a few meetings abroad,” he said. He said he was ready for cross country and would like to feature in the 4km for the last time in Fukuoka, Japan. The event will be held for the last time next year in Fukuoka, Japan. He regrets the event would not be there in 2007 when Kenya hosts the World Cross.

© Kenyan News