Kenya's Rhonex Kipruto celebrates finishing third in the Men's 10,000m final at the 2019 IAAF Athletics World Championships at the Khalifa International stadium in Doha on Oct 6, 2019. (ANDREJ ISAKOVIC / AFP)

NAIROBI - World 10,000m bronze medalist Rhonex Kipruto said Thursday he may challenge the world record, which he set in Valencia, Spain in January.

Kipruto, 20, plans to challenge the record again to raise the bar higher, after Ugandan Joshua Cheptegei preyed on it but could only shake off the 5,000m mark.

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I hope we will return to training and then see what the season has in store. For now, it is hard to plan with the COVID-19 challenge and limited training

Rhonex Kipruto

Kipruto started the season in explosive fashion breaking the 10km world record at the Valencia road race.

"I hope we will return to training and then see what the season has in store. For now, it is hard to plan with the COVID-19 challenge and limited training. I am keen to plan trees to keep busy, but we will overcome the pandemic," said Kipruto.

On Wednesday, World Athletics ratified Kipruto's 5km (13:18) and 10km (26:24), as well as Sasha Zhoya's world indoor Under-20 60m hurdles record of 7.34.

Kipruto's world record marks came when winning at the 10k Valencia on Jan. 12. The Kenyan dominated the race, passing through 3km in 7:59 before dropping the last of his challengers.

Kipruto smashed Richard Chelimo's two-decade record of 27:07.91 set in July 1993, maintaining his time of 26:50.16 was an indicator of what to expect from him in his first senior appearance.

"I'm over the moon," said Kipruto, who is coached by Colm O'Connell.

"When I clocked 26:46 in Prague in 2018, I set myself the target of breaking the world 10km record and in January my dream came true. This year, I want to have an easy run and by extension go out and enjoy my race. I don't intend to put myself in any form of pressure," said Kipruto.

In Monaco on Feb 16, one month after Kipruto's run in Valencia, Cheptegei clocked 12:51 over 5km, a mark that is pending ratification.

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Kenyan coaches have primed Kipruto to be the man to finally end the long jinx to lift the Olympic gold medal.

Pairing up with world half marathon champion Geoffrey Kamworor,  Kipruto's quick rise off the blocks has given many fans dreams of how fast the 20-year-old can run in 2020 and then at the 2021 Tokyo Games.