NAIROBI, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- Olympic 1,500m champion Faith Chepng'etich has ruled herself out of the 2019 season as she struggles to shake off weight after becoming a mother.
Speaking in Nyahururu, the 25-year-old said she has her eyes trained on defending her title at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and believed she is a little late to push her body to return to optimum fitness for the grueling 2019 season, which starts in a month.
Chepng'etich, who made history by becoming the third woman to win both the Olympics and World Championships, will skip this year's World Championships in Doha, Qatar and the World Cross Country Championships in Arhus, Denmark.
Chepng'etich announced in February she is expecting her first child, which ruled her out of the Commonwealth Games. She has since given birth and started light training.
"I have resumed training, though slowly as I learn to balance sports and motherhood," she said on Tuesday. "The idea is not to rush back to competition. I have given myself a year to prepare and focus on the Tokyo Olympics."
Chepng'etich, who beat South African Caster Semenya in the 1,500m race to win gold for Kenya in London, has pitched her training camp in Eldoret so that she can be near her eight-month-old baby girl.
"I have more challenges now to take care of the child as a mother and build on my athletics passion. I can't complain. I enjoy the two roles. I want to be fit and ready to clinch a national slot and defend my title in Tokyo in 2020," said Chepng'etich.
