Kenya's Kamworor turns focus to Diamond League challenge

NAIROBI, March 28 (Xinhua) -- World Half Marathon champion Geoffrey Kamworor will now target winning the IAAF Diamond League meeting, which starts in Doha, Qatar on May 4.

Last year, the Kenyan waived all marathon commitments to focus on the World Championships and will also use similar plans as he seeks to improve his timing in the 5,000m and 10,000m races, which he will contest during the 14-tier premier track and field competition.

Kamworor, the 2015 Beijing 10,000m silver medalist, said he intends to run a fast time and boost his speed before returning to New York in November to defend the marathon title.

"I have no intentions to run any marathon in the next three months. I want to use this season's Diamond League Series to clock faster times which will help in speed work. The idea is to clock fast time and secure qualification to the 2019 World Championships in Doha," Kamworor told Xinhua on Wednesday in Nairobi.

Kenya has a rich reservoir in the long distance races, and Kamworor is not naive about the scale of the challenge ahead. "When I go back to training, I will be concentrating on track events in 5,000m and 10,000m," he said.

Doha first staged a major athletics event in 1997 with the Doha Grand Prix, which was elevated to the Super Grand Prix in 2005. In 2010, Doha hosted the first-ever IAAF Diamond League fixture which has continued to grow in strength every year and provides an ideal opening to the outdoor season.

From Doha, the series will head to all four corners of the globe, crossing four continents and 12 countries on the road to the final.

Athletes have the opportunity to pick up points in 12 qualifying meetings as they battle it out for a place in the IAAF Diamond League Final at the end of the season.

The two Finals will take place in Zurich and Brussels on Aug 30, but the journey begins in Doha. Enditem