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After winning the Prague Half Marathon on Saturday, Kibiwott Kandie believes he is slowly imposing himself as the new kid on the block in long distance running.

The runner, who clocked 58:37 ahead of Philemon Kiplimo (59:56) and Benson Kipruto (1:00.06) who finished second and third respectively, says he feels he can lower  Geoffrey Kamworor’s record very soon.

Kandie, a Kenya Defence Forces officer, was victorious at Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon in United Arab Emirates in March,  a week after he stunned favourite Kamworor from Kenya Police to win the national cross country title says he feels he is getting to his prime and anything is possible with good preparations.

“The world record was not on my mind when the race began, but I feel I was really close afterwards.

Most importantly, racing again after a while was a sweet feeling. Soon I want to be in a position to challenge for records,” he added.

The 23-year-old athlete who trains in Ngong, coincidentally wants to follow in the footsteps of  rival Kamworor, who has been nicknamed the Man for all Surfaces.

“Kamworor is one of the few athletes who have been exceptional on the track, road races and even cross country. He is the kind of athlete many want to emulate,” he said. 

Despite the  World Half Marathon not happening on March 29 in Gdynia, Poland, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, Kandie is still hopeful he will make Team Kenya when the event is finally held.

“It might take a while before things are back to normal levels, but we have to be appreciative that we are able to race again,” added the athlete who hails from Baringo.

His biggest target is to compete in 10,000m next year with the aim of making it to Team Kenya for the 2021 Tokyo Games.