By Mutwiri MutuotaOlympic 800m women’s champion, Pamela Jelimo, believes she possesses enough ammunition to gun for the World Championships crown in Berlin.
Jelimo, who clocked 1:59.59 for her first victory of the season in Belgium, also revealed shattered confidence after appalling two opening races and expressed relief after her triumphant outing last Saturday.
"After recovery from injury, I resumed my training in March. I decided to test myself in Rabat and things there were bad," Jelimo told reporters on Tuesday.
"I then travelled to Oregon and it was even worse. Those performances were very painful but I took them as something normal and returned home to train," the world junior record holder (1:54.01) narrated.
Opening Campaigns
She was recalling her opening campaigns at Rabat CAA Super Grand Prix (2:02.46, May 23) and Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon (2:05.57) where she slumped to sixth and last positions. The results jolted a planet that saw her dictate women’s 800m running last year.
In addition to making history as Kenya’s first female Olympic gold medallist in Beijing, Jelimo was also the solo winner of the $1m (Sh76m) IAAF Golden League jackpot, World Athletics Final winner, Africa Champion, and remained unbeaten in 13 races.
"After winning in Belgium, I was very happy to be competing well against my colleagues once again. It made me realise that I’m okay. I was sad reading ‘Jelimo has run to the Wooden Spoon’.
"My body is responding well and what I’m working on is to see whether I can be in my (last year’s) shape ahead of Berlin," the teenage two-lap prodigy disclosed.
On Saturday’s Trials for World Championships, Jelimo observed: "I am focusing on doing well and be in the Kenya team. Winning will make me very happy, but I don’t I intend to be among the top two for selection."
She intends to feature in one or two events after the trials to build on her momentum.
"I want to see whether I can do a PB ahead of Berlin. Last year, I improved my time race after race and it helped me get better. Running my PB depends on the races I will feature in but more importantly, I need to get competitive again."
Prepare Adequately
Jelimo cited the threat posed by Russians in the women’s 800m in Berlin and urged her compatriots to prepare adequately to nullify them.
"They are coming up very well and we must work hard. I will put more effort in training to be in a position to compete with them."
Russians Mariya Savinova (1:57.90) and Elena Kofanova (1:58.60) have posted the two world leading times in the women’s 800m.
Speaking to FeverPitch, her new coach said: "I’m expecting her to get into 1:57 shape or better. We had told her not to burn herself in Belgium and running 1:59.59 was a good sign she is getting back to her best.
"Pamela lacked endurance and after three weeks’ intensive training, she is now okay and even doing an average of 26 seconds in 200m. Her confidence was very low especially after Rabat and Eugene."
If she qualifies for Berlin, Jelimo will attempt to be the second woman in history after retired Mozambique great, Maria Lourdes Mutola, (2000 and 2001) to hold the Olympic and world titles simultaneously.
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