Elijah Manangoi, photo by PhotoRun.net
NAIROBI (KEN): World 1500m champion Elijah Manangoi has spoken of how the disappointment of not making the Kenyan team for the 2013 World Championships persuaded him to move directly up from 400m, for which he had a PB of 47.33. “When I was training for the 400 metres I would always do well in the endurance sessions and I could easily run 3×800 (in training),” he told the IAAF. “I also remember my old coach Colm O’Connell telling me I could one day become world 1500 metres champion. I was so disappointed not to make another team (for the 400m) I told my coach (Bernard Ouma) I want to try the 1500. My coach said, ‘no, try the 800 metres first’ but I knew in my heart I needed to go directly to the 1500 metres.” Manangoi is aiming to compete in the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast next April.
RunBlogRun opines: Manangoi ran a brilliant 1500m final in London. His speed has been one of his real talents and we see him playing a big part in 1,500m global races in the future. His 400 meter PB was similar to 1992 Olympic champ Fermin Cacho from Spain.
