By John Kwoba
NAIROBI, May 31 (Xinhua) -- London marathon champion Vivian Cheruiyot of Kenya will only think of retirement after competing at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.
Speaking from Eldoret on Thursday, Cheruiyot believes good planning and performance will be enough to secure her a slot in the Kenyan team and at the Olympics.
The 34-year-old remains confident she will continue her positive trajectory competing and winning at the big city marathons.
"I still view myself as novice in marathon. I have only run three races and the target is always to run in big cities and in the Olympics. I want to win the Olympic marathon," said Cheruiyot.
Competitors at the Tokyo 2020 marathon will face a tough uphill finish as organizers said Thursday when they outlined the route, an additional challenge to heat that has already sparked concern.
Kenya has over 40 women who have run under two hours and 30 minutes, the cut mark for qualification to the Olympics and Cheruiyot will be among the many athletes who will have their names in the pot for the coaches to draw from.
Cheruiyot's victory in London confirmed her pedigree as one of the top female marathon runners, ready to take over from veteran Edna Kiplagat and Mary Keitany.
Cheruiyot, with personal best of 2:18:31, now becomes the fourth fastest woman in marathon history after Radcliffe (2:15:25), Keitany (2:17:01) and Tirunesh Dibaba (2:17:56).
But she has to toughen up if she is to win in Tokyo in 2020 as organizers believe the change in course, especially the final climb would likely be decisive factor in deciding the winner of the race.
"I like to win. Like when winning the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year in 2012 was one of the biggest highlights of my career," she said. Enditem
