It is just a matter of weeks until athletes who have qualified and been selected for Budapest 2023 world championships enter training camp at Trinity Biblical Institute – TBI Kapchorwa.  

Unfortunately for Uganda, Peruth Chemutai, the Tokyo 2021 Olympics champion, is yet to hit qualification time.  

All her fellow elite compatriots including Joshua Cheptegei, Jacob Kiplimo, Victor Kiplangat, Stella Chesang and Janat Chemusto have all nailed the entry.  

With the qualification fields running out, it might be a thornier problem for steeplechase superstar Chemutai, 23.  

Her personal coach at Global Sports Communication, Addy Ruiter, confirmed to New Vision, Lausanne Diamond League in Switzerland is a window of opportunity for Chemutai to seize.

Lausanne Diamond League is slated for June 30.

According to her Police Club coach, Benjamin Njia, "If she does not qualify for Budapest in Lausanne DL, a few more opportunities will be considered because she is a very important member of the national team."

For now, less experienced starlet Loice Chekwemoi is Uganda’s only steeple runner in the female category to qualify. 

So much depends, very obviously, on how Chemutai's performance pans out, but going by her vehement training sessions, the Ugandan could not be in better shape to qualify for championships slated for August 19-27. 

Given the Police Athletics club prospect, Chemutai and coach Ruiter’s quality, there should be no excuse for them not to qualify.  

With all intent and purpose, Chemutai has no option but to go deep into it as she seeks to go one better than their last crack at this tournament when she lost in the final after finishing in a rather disappointing position in Doha, 2019 and most recently Eugene, Oregon 2022 in USA.  

Chemutai’s last encounters 

After winning gold in Tokyo Olympics, the 22-year-old picked an injury, which prevented her from the medal bracket finish in the U20 championships hosted in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi and 2021 Zurich Diamond League, respectively. 

After four months of injury layoff, she recovered to win a bronze in the national cross-country championships 2022 in Tororo, gold in Belgium World outdoor world tours, silver in Lile, France and gold in the FBK Games, Netherlands. 

During the last edition of world champs, Chemutai struggled with stomachache complications, which condemned her to a distant finish.  

Weeks later, Chemutai took the flight to Birmingham city in England to compete in the 2022 Commonwealth Games after dominating for a couple of laps, she awkwardly tripped, losing her lead as well as injuring her ankle again.

Chemutai was only able to win a bronze in Birmingham before being helped off the track in a wheelchair.

Since then, opportunities have been rare for Chemutai.

“Everyone’s life has ups and downs, that was my experience and I had to settle for it and thank God the storm is over, wins are back at the right moment. I learnt that one does not have to force things to work. God’s timing is the best and hopefully, he has got me back to my best ahead of the championships for a reason,” Peruth said as she detailed a self-made promise.

Asked on whether she is worried of other athletes who might have had better race finishing times this season, Peruth was frankly defiant in her response.

“Nobody is supernatural, everybody is beatable, that is my working culture,” Chemutai said.