(SP)KENYA-ITEN-TRACK & FIELD-YOUNG RUNNER-AIMING FOR CHENGDU

(230611) -- ITEN, June 11, 2023 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan runner Kelvin Kimtai Chepsigor (top, R) from Kisii University delivers a presentation at Kisii University in Kisii, Kenya, on June 6, 2023. At nearly 6 am, the first morning light shines upon the landmark arch written with "Home of Champions" in Iten, the runners gathered here to greet each other with a fist bump, stretch their muscles, and prepare for the first training session of the day. With an average altitude of 2,400 meters, Iten sits in the west of Kenya, near the Great Rift Valley of East Africa. It is an ideal long-distance running training place and is the cradle of many world-class middle and long distance runners. In Iten, athletes of different camps, age groups, and genders train together and inspire each other with their performance. The 22-year-old Kelvin Kimtai Chepsigor, an athlete student from Kisii University who trains in Iten, was born in Kitale, a small town in the northwest of Iten. "Eliud Kipchoge is my idol, and his experience inspi