Ngugi concerned about form for Ellerslie

Press, 24 March 1988, Page 36

Ngugi concerned about form for Ellerslie

PA Auckland , ij ' I ' ! Kenya's double world cross-country champion, John Ngugi, is) concerned about his form for Saturday's world championship I at Ellerslie racecourse, i 1 Ngugi,) aged 25, who won .the world individual title at Switzerland in 11986 then successfully! defended it I in Poland last year, has been troubled; with .a knee injury since. I I ) ) ) He has also; had difficulty breathing during his training runs since arriving in Auckland. !| [ ; ■[ ' I [ “I’m just not sure about my form,” Ngugi said yesterday. “I had an operation to have a cyst removed from behind my knee shortly after last year’s world: cross-country championship, but I’ve still been haying trouble with it. ‘T’ve ') also I been finding breathing difficult since I’ve been here. The air seems to be different from home in Kenya so it’s difficult to say how well I’ll: run on Saturday,” Ngugi said. Should Ngugi fail to retain his title on Saturday, the

individual event could; go to another of Kenya’s talen ed squad, Paul Kipkoech). ( Kipkoech, aged 25, was the worlds best runner oyer, 10,000 m last year and re-' cently won the Kenyan crosscountry trial for Saturday’s world championship team.; He was unbeaten over 10,000 m on the track last year winning! the Kenyan championship,) the 'African championship,, then the world championship [in Rome in) a fast 27min 38.635. .[ [)) [ Kenya has easily won the men’s team title at the last two world [ crosscountry championships and [is favoured to win again on Saturday. .[ ■ ■ i ■ [)[ | Although many of Kenya's leading middle distance and distance runners attend universities in the United States, all members' of this year's world cross-country team are Kenyan-based. After the trial to select the team to compete here, the Kenyans spent three weeks in a training camp at Embu near Mount Kenya. [ 1 Jii Embu is at an altitude of 1900 m, but the altitude was

not the main reason for the; 1 camp bding held there. “Most of our runners live at high altitudes j'so there .would have been no real i benefit to them [ going to! j Embu to train," Kenya’s headl [ coach, Michael Koskei, said ) in Auckland yesterday' I "We went there plainly because it is quiet and the air is [ clear — there is no pollution. They were able to concen- ; trate totally on their training ! for the world championships,” he said, |) ■: IJ Koskei is not prepared to predict [another Kenyan team ' triumph on Saturday in spite of the | Kenyan's '! dominance the past two’years. Ip : [ In [1986, Kenya won the teams title with 45 j points, well cibar of second-placed i Ethiopia (119) ! with [ the United (States a distant I third I (204). Its five contestants finished in the first Inine. ) [ I Last year, Kenya (53) beat [ England (146) arid Ethiopia I. | ;) ; I “The I team members are well prepared,” Koskei said. ",We wjll just have to wait and see what! [ Saturday brings.” , | ; 1! .