Kenya's Kipketer pursues World Junior glory

Nairobi, July 22 (IANS) The moment of reckoning for Kenya's Alfred Kipketer comes Friday when he lines-up for the heats of the men 800m at the 10th IAAF World Junior Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

Kipketer, 17, is aiming to progress from the first hurdle and the semis before landing his place in the medal race Sunday so he can add World Junior gold to the World Youth top medal he won last year in Donetsk, Ukraine, reports Xinhua.

The talented teenager has already served notice for his capabilities this season by running a World Junior leading 1:44.2 at the high altitude of Nairobi besides anchoring the Kenyan 4x800m relay team to gold at the inaugural IAAF World Relay Championships in Bahamas in March.

The sixth-born in a family of eight opted out of the Commonwealth Games senior squad to fulfill his dream of bidding farewell to age running with the greatest prize of all available in the sport for a runner aged 20 and below.

"After Bahamas, I was called for the Commonwealth Trials and even given a lane at the final after I decided not to run in the semis but I told them I want to finish my running as a junior in Eugene since I have many years ahead of me to run as a senior," said Kipketeron Monday before they departed for Oregon for the biennial IAAF showpiece that starts Tuesday.