By John Kwoba
NAIROBI, June 28 (Xinhua) -- Kenya Junior athletics team coach Robert Ngisirei says under-18 world champion George Manangoi will overcome the loss of his sister to star at the IAAF World U20 Championships in Tampere, Finland from July 10-15.
Manangoi was second during the Kenya trials but had to leave the camp due to the death of his older sister Bena. "He will overcome it. I want him to look at it as inspiration and win [at the] IAAF World U20 Championships for his sister. He is a strong athlete and we want him to be at his best form mentally and physically for the championships," the coach said on Thursday in Nairobi.
Kenya has named a 27-member team for the championships but the coach was forced to give the 1,500m youth champion time off to travel home.
Ngiserei said the country must be wary of the danger posed by the USA, Germany, Ethiopia, Uganda, Jamaica and China. China has selected four Under-18 world champions from the team that took part in the World Youth Championships in Nairobi last year.
One year on from striking gold in Nairobi, race walker Zhang Yao, javelin thrower Liu Zhekai, pole vaulter Niu Chunge and long jumper Gong Luying will all line up in Tampere in a bid to add to their medal collection. China is one of the most successful nations in the history of the IAAF World U20 Championships, having earned 39 gold medals since the event began in 1986.
One more gold medal in Tampere would make China just the fifth nation to win 40 medals or more at the IAAF World U20 Championships.
At the IAAF World U20 Championships in Canada, Kenya bagged 15 medals - seven gold, four silver and an equal number of bronze to top the medal table. Ngisirei now wants his team to surpass this threshold. Two years ago in Poland, Kenya ended up second behind the United States clinching 13 medals - four gold, four silver and five bronze.
"Things are changing, the coaching techniques will change, and we will try to make sure these athletes do better than all the others. In 2010 I was the coach when we were number one in Canada. This year, I am certain that this team will do wonders," Ngisirei said.
