Africa 1500m champion Abel Kipsang has high expectations ahead of  his debut at the World Athletics Championships set for this Friday in Eugene, Oregon, USA.

Kipsang is among the first batch of Team Kenya that left the country on Tuesday morning at 1.50am.

The athlete who finished fourth in 1,500m at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games last year, before claiming bronze at the World Indoor Championships over the same distance on March 20 this year in Belgrade, Serbia said he is ready for the Championships.

“I know it would be a very tough field in Oregon but personally I thrive when competing under pressure. I enjoy competing with top athletes and I know we will have a very strong partnership in Oregon with all my teammates,” said Kipsang who is set to compete in the preliminaries on Saturday.

World champion 

Kipsang who once again edged world champion Timothy Cheruiyot to win a tightly-contested 1500m race at Athletics Kenya trials for World Championships and Commonwealth Games last month at the Kasarani Stadium further says training has been great at Kasarani.

“We have had humble time with out coaches where personally I was focusing on speed work which is a very important aspect in 1500m. I want to approach the championship with confidence because I believe in myself,” added Kipsang who clocked 3:34.54 as Cheruiyot followed closely in 3:34.59 to settle for the second spot as Kumari Taki sealed the podium during the trials.

Fresh from winning the Doha and Birmingham legs of the Diamond League as well as the African title in Mauritius, Kipsang couldn’t be happier.

“I have a had one of the best seasons of my athletics life, how I have approached and ran my races has been a big revelation, I feel it will end well in Oregon,” he said.

Meanwhile, team manager Rono Bunei said the team is ready after two weeks of training at Kasarani Stadium.

“Our athletes are ready to shock the world. The togetherness in the team has made things easy for the coaches,” said Bunei while explaining that the technical officials had good sessions with the athletes both at Karura for the long runs and track session at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani.

The country will be represented at the championships with a contingent of 62 that includes 46 athletes- 25 men and 21 women

The next batch will leave on Wednesday at a 1:50am.