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World half marathon record holder Geoffrey Kamworor has confirmed that he would be defending his title during the rescheduled Kenya Police Cross country set for January 29 at Ngong race course.

Kamworor who has won a record seven titles at the Kenya Police Service Cross Country Championship, will be seeking his eight title this time round.

“Winning seven titles is not easy. It is actually through hard work that I have managed to rule this championship, I have fully recovered and I have intensify my training after suffering a minor injury setback last year and this will be my first race after the accident,’’ Kamworor told People Sport.

The half marathon world record holder was involved in a minor accident after he was hit by a speeding motorcycle while training in Eldoret, sustaining knocks on his head and ankle that saw him out of action for a while as he recovered.

The January 29 race will be his first competitive race since recovering from the accident. During last year’s Kenya Police cross country championship Kamworor finished the race in a time of 30:04.3.

Josphat Boit and Hosea Kimosop came second and third respectively in times of 30:04.9 and 30:25.6.

In the corresponding women category Kericho-based Jackline Cherotich stunned defending champion Margaret Chelimo to win the corresponding women’s race in a time of 35:00.0 as Stacy Ndiwa placed second in 35:11.6 while Chelimo ranked third in 35:14.0.

The reigning world half marathon record holder attributed his dominance at the championship to proper training.

The athlete who trains at the Global Communications camp in Kaptagat has also rued the global spread of Coronavirus which affected his training and slowed his road to recovery.

With Olympic medal his major focus this year, Kamworor hinted at giving the continental championship a wide berth as he seeks his maiden Olympic gold during the Tokyo Games.

“For sure I am only lacking an Olympic medal in my cabinet and therefore my target this year is to try and bring home the medal in Tokyo,” he said.

In September 2019 Kamworor set a new world  half marathon record with a stunning run in Copenhagen.

Kamworor took 17 seconds off the previous record, set by fellow Kenyan Abraham Kiptum in Valencia in 2018 to complete the 13.1 miles in 58:01.

The 28-year-old won the IAAF Gold Label Race by 75 seconds, fellow Kenyan Bernard Kipkorir crossed the line second and Ethiopia’s Berehanu Wendemu Tsegu finished third.

Taking his maiden title in Copenhagen when stopping the clock at 59:08, he retained the accolade he attained two years earlier in Cardiff, despite losing his footing and slipping at the start, losing 15 precious seconds.