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Former world 800m champion Janeth Jepkosgei has revealed the reasons that almost made her change nationalities from Kenya to Bahrain.
Former world 800m champion Janeth Jepkosgei has revealed how she almost became a Bahrain national before her story turned to a different direction.
Jepkosgei, who became the first Kenyan woman to win a world title in 800m, would not have made that piece of history had plans to switch to Bahrain succeeded.
The 40-year-old explained how frustrations of not getting selected into the Kenyan team to a number of global events, despite winning at the trials, saw her explore her options and after being approached to switch nationalities, she decided to quit Kenya for Bahrain in search of running opportunities in 2005.
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09:30 - 30.07.2023
ATHLETICS Former World 800m champion Jepkosgei shares how Kenya can reclaim long-distance running prowess
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“I won the nationals [trials] almost three-four times and I was not selected to the team to the World Championships until 2006,” Jepkosgei told NTV’s Spot On.
“In 2005 I met some guys and there was this move of going to Bahrain and Qatar and I had all my papers plus all the money [which she was to be paid] on the papers so I came after closing the season in Italy and went to Athletics Kenya [AK]. I met the late Isaiah Kiplagat [former AK president] and I told him; ‘I want to change, I want to run for Bahrain.’
“He told me; ‘Okay, I am like your father, this is nothing, next year you will be in the team. Do you want to go to the Indoor or Commonwealth’? and I said indoor is a small track that I have never run. I understood what he said and he said, okay let us give it a try and go for the Commonwealth. That was Melbourne 2006 at the peak of my career and everything [going to Bahrain] went.”
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That decision to seek Athletics Kenya’s approval to switch nationalities was the turning point in the athlete’s career as it accelerated her inclusion into the national team, earning a spot into Team Kenya for the 2006 Commonwealth Games.
She showed her immense talent, proving why she deserved to be in the team for previous championships, by flooring favourite Maria Mutola of Mozambique to claim a gold medal.
“I knew I was in good shape because I was training already with [coach] Claudio [Berardelli]. The last 200m, I knew I could kick but during the race, I was inside and I had to make a move. When I made the move, Maria also did it and I said okay, we go,” Jepkosgei explained regarding her tactics in the race.
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07:31 - 05.11.2024
'She has been robbed' - Outrage as Beatrice Chebet misses from World Athlete of the Year finalists
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“I won the race and all the cameras were on Maria and I had gone to celebrate with the Kenyans on the other side. I could not believe it and when I started to think I had done something was in 2007 in Osaka.”
Jepkosgei would silence Mutola once again the following year, beating her at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Japan to claim a historic gold medal for Kenya.
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