Paris Olympics 2024: Faith Cherotich takes gigantic dreams to France

3000m steeplechase world record holder Beatrice Chepkoech (centre) and 3000m steeplechase U20 world champion Faith Cherotich during the national trials. [AFP]

World 3,000m steeplechase bronze medallist Faith Cherotich cuts a slender figure, but her Olympic dreams are gigantic.

Cherotich’s stature has earned her the name “Small Faith” in athletics circles.

By bagging bronze at the 2023 Budapest World Championships, Cherotich booked her place in the history of athletics.

At the 2024 Paris Olympics, she, alongside World Record holder Beatrice Chepkoech and Commonwealth Champion Jackline Chepkoech, will be flying the country’s flag in women’s 3,000m steeplechase.

Cherotich, 20, is heading to Paris, with the hope that her training will propel her to Olympic glory.

“I am happy to be among athletes who have made it to the Olympic Games,” Cherotich said in Eldoret.

“The onus is on me and the team to make Kenya proud.”

Cherotich said that she had set sights on medaling at the Paris Olympics.

The 2022 World Under-20 3,000m steeplechase champion is an Olympic debutant and looking to shine.

The upcoming Olympics, the debutant says, will open a new chapter in her athletics career.

“I am excited that I am making my first appearance at the Olympics. This is a rare opportunity and I promise that I will do my best. Winning a medal will make the experience very special,” said Cherotich.

Compared to preparations for previous championships, Cherotich says, training for the Olympics has been thorough. “Nothing is left to chance during the preparations,” she says.

“My preparations have been good, what is remaining is to perform well at the Olympics,” she said.

She displayed the mettle she is made of when she won the women’s 3000m steeplechase contest ahead of Beatrice Chepkoech during the Olympics national trials in June.

Cherotich was the 2023 female World Rising Star of the Year award winner after stellar performances that year.

Her journey to stardom has been punctuated with a great measure of resilience and exceptional focus.

At the last World Championships, Cherotich could not afford to disappoint an expectant nation which was hoping for a clean podium sweep in the women’s steeplechase.

In 2021, she won a bronze medal at the World Under-20 championships in Nairobi.

In 2022, she upgraded the bronze to a gold medal at the World Under-20 Championships in Cali, Colombia, officially announcing her arrival on the big stage.

Cherotich and the Chepkoechs will be facing World Champion, Kenya-born Bahraini steeplechaser Winfred Yavi and Olympic champion Peruth Chemutai from Uganda, among others.