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NAIROBI, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- With her eyes off the world cross country championships, Olympic 5,000m silver medalist Hellen Obiri will be the athlete to beat on Saturday at the Karlsruhe Indoor Meeting, which is part of the IAAF World Indoor Tour.
Obiri will be part of the six Olympic medallists featuring in Karlsruhe. The 5000m silver medalist from Rio recorded a world-leading 8:39.08 over 3000m on the first leg of the IAAF World Indoor Tour in Boston last Saturday and will be looking to extend her lead in the tour rankings.
"My intention is to work on my speed and then return home and see how far I can go in my endurance campaign. The target is to do well in the outdoor season during the Diamond League and then go to London for the World Championships," said Obiri.
Challenging the Kenyan will be Britain's Laura Muir. The 23-year-old clocked 14:49.12, a world-leading time over 5000m in Glasgow last month to break the 25-year-old national indoor record by 14 seconds.
Meanwhile, Konstanze Klosterhalfen still remembers Karlsruhe fondly from last year's editions where the German set the European junior record of 4:08.38 over 1500m. She will be stepping up in distance for the occasion and join the stellar 3000m field.
The men's 1500m will see the top three finishers from Dusseldorf take on one another over the seven and a half laps distance in pursuit for World Indoor Tour points.
Kenya's Elijah Manangoi outsprinted compatriot Bethwel Birgen and Silas Kiplagat on Wednesday at 3:37.62 and could take over the overall lead, which he currently shares with Olympic champion Matthew Centrowitz.
Two more meetings remain in the indoor tour. On Feb 10 athletes will converge in Torun, Poland for the penultimate race before the finals in Birmingham on Feb 18.
