Former World Indoor 3,000m bronze medalist Bethwell Birgen will be chasing his first win in 2021 when he lines up at the Karlsruhe, the first World Indoor meeting in Germany this Friday 29th January 2021.
Birgen, who won the 2017 World Indoor overall 1,500m title said his preparations have been in top gear and heading into Germany City will be putting what he has been training for into reality, yearning for glory as part of his preparations for the Olympic Games.
“I have had very good preparations and I will be hoping for good results in Germany. I have done so many World Indoor championships and the Friday event will be great for me to prove that my training has not been in vain,” said Birgen.
In 2018, he made history during the 2018 World Indoor championships when he was the only Kenyan to win a medal at the 3,000m Indoor championships in Birmingham City.
“This was a great moment for me and it boosted my morale in the championships. This is a good build-up for the Olympic Games,” said Birgen.
After the Karlsruhe meeting, Birgen will be heading to the 3rd meeting at the Lievin in France but he will be competing in the 1,500m not the 3,000m race.
The Lievin meeting will be taking place on 9th February 2021 after the Boston meeting in the USA that will be held on 6th February 2021.
“In these two races, it will be helping me to gauge my fitness ahead of the Monaco 5km race,” said Birgen on Tuesday evening on his way to Germany.
In the Monaco 5km race, Birgen will be chasing the title alongside 10,000m world record holder Joshua Cheptegei from Uganda.
He says the road race will be part of his endurance and speed for track events as he wants to represent Kenya at the 2020 Olympic Games.
World Athletics has expanded the World Indoor meetings to six meetings that kicks off in Germany, followed by Boston in the USA, Lievin in France, and New York City in the USA. Torun in Poland before ending in Madrid, Spain.
Calendar – World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold
29 Jan – Karlsruhe, Germany
6 Feb – Boston, USA
9 Feb – Lievin, France
13 Feb – New York City, USA
17 Feb – Torun, Poland
24 Feb – Madrid, Spain