NAIROBI, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's middle distance coach Paul Ereng remains confident his apprentice Michael Saruni will clinch gold at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Birmingham, England from March 1-4.
Saruni left his coach, a former world champion in 800m, dreaming of him setting another world record prior to Saruni running in Birmingham.
"Saruni continues to impress with world-leading times and a personal best time of 1:45.19 in the 800m at the Texas Tech Invitational," said Ereng.
This performance comes just a week after Saruni posted another world-leading time in the 600m, beating compatriot Emmanuel Korir's time set last year. Saruni stopped the clock at 1:14.79.
On Saturday, Saruni showed his skills yet again with an easy win of 1:45.19 ahead of second placed Vincent Crisp (1:48.01) and Leo Manzano (1:48.81).
"It was blazing. I said before this kid is on fire. Saruni clocked 1:45:19 in Texas, which leaves no doubt he is the finest in the 800m now. This is the fastest time in the world this year and Saruni is here stay," said Ereng.
However, he will face a new challenge in the 800m outdoor event as he tries to make it into the Kenyan team that's going to Australia's Gold Coast in April for the Commonwealth Games.
Last year, Saruni's name was controversially omitted from the Kenyan team for the IAAF Word Championships despite finishing third in the trials.
Kenya settled for Olympic 800m champion David Rudisha, Michael Korir, Kipyegon Bett and Ferguson Rotich. But there will be no stopping Saruni in his quest to win his first medal for Kenya in March.
The IAAF World Indoor Tour, a series of six indoor events, kicks off in a week's time with the first indoor event being held in Karlsruhe, Germany on Feb. 3.
Staged over the course of 22 action-packed days, the IAAF Indoor Series includes stops in Dusseldorf, Madrid, Boston and Torun before its conclusion in Glasgow on Feb 25.
The series serves as the final dress rehearsal for the IAAF World Indoor Championships Birmingham.
The individual overall winner of each event upon conclusion of the tour will receive 20,000 U.S. dollars (126,718 CNY) prize money and will automatically qualify for the IAAF World Indoor Championships Birmingham through a wild card slot.
