OSAKA — News and notes from Day 4 of the 2007 IAAF World Athletics Champion ships.

Kenya's Ruth Bosibori Nyangau competes barefoot.

She doesn't have to, but chooses to do so.

"I am used to running without them in the actual races and I win," she told reporters. "But when training, I wear training shoes."

Nyangau, 19, earned a fourth-place finish in Monday's 3,000-meter steeplechase final, completing the race in 9 minutes, 25.25 seconds. She was the youngest competitor in the 14-woman final.

National legends sparked the up-and-coming runner's interest in the sport.

"I had heard of Isabella Ochichi and Catherine Ndereba and wanted to be like them," Nyangau said, referring to the Commonwealth Games' 5,000 champion and the four-time Boston Marathon winner, respectively.

Nyangau is on her way to becoming a national standout, as well.

She placed first in the Kenya national trials for the All Africa Games on June 16 with a time of 9:50. A month later, Nyangau tasted success again, placing first at the All Africa Games in Algiers, setting an African junior record (9:31.99).

"She is a very focused runner who believes she is the best in her discipline and has the drive to be exactly that," said Dan Muchoki, Nyangau's coach.

And she likes to push herself.

"I love seeing people jumping hurdles and it interests me a lot," was the way she explained her interest in the steeplechase.

Nyangau will keep busy after the 2007 World Championships.

When she returns home, the daughter of peasant farmers in an area known as Kisii District, Nyanza South, will attend the Kenya Police Training College in Kiganjo, Central Kenya for nine months. She will train to be a police constable.

"I like the discipline in Kenya Police," she said, "and they have a strong athletics team."

* * * * *

SICK AT WORK: On Monday, 54 workers at the TBS Broadcast Center at Nagai Stadium were taken to Higashi-Sumiyoshi Morimoto Hospital and Osaka Ichi Ritsu University Hospital after experiencing what has been described by people in the media center as food poisoning.

TBS had hired a catering company. The name of that company was not released on TBS' news release, but according to a release the Osaka City Health Department is assessing the situation.

* * * * *

ATTENDANCE UPDATE: There were 21,000 people in attendance on the opening session of the 11th IAAF World Championships last Saturday at Nagai Stadium, and 27,000 for Day One's evening session. The first figure does not include the thousands of people who lined the streets of Osaka for the men's marathon.

The IAAF reported that 14,000 were at Sunday's morning session and 35,000 in the night.

On Monday, 16,000 spectators showed up for the early session and 24,000 watched the late session.

* * * * *

WHAT'S IN A NAME: Uganda long distance runner Boniface Kiprop, who placed 10th in the men's 10,000 on Monday, has a name that's shared by several athletes in Kenya and Uganda.

In an IAAF "Focus on Athletes" feature, writer John Manners noted that there are 19 Kiprops listed in an Internet database.

The surname means "born while it's raining" in both countries. Kenyans and Ugandans are members of the same tribe, the Kalenjin.

The Sabei is the name of Boniface's branch of the tribe. The Sabei people reside near the Kenya-Uganda border, which is dominated by the 4,300-meter Mt. Elgon.

* * * * *

BIG ADJUSTMENT: Middle-distance runner Gary Kikaya, who was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, attended the University of Tennessee, where he earned a bachelor's degree in sociology in three years.

"It was a whole transformation," he says now, describing the move. "In terms of thinking, I had to grow up. I was by myself. There was no room for error. So I started taking my running more seriously.

"At the same time I had the pressure to fit into the society: the first time being in the cold, in the snow — lots of tough stuff. But those types of situations made me stronger.

"Just the culture shock, first of all. The running was hard, the academics, the school program was completely different. I had to do so much in six months."

In 2002, Kikaya won the 400 at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in 44.53 seconds, establishing a new record in the prestigious American collegiate meet.

Looking back at that race, Kikaya said, "That was a shocker. But I believe there are no limits. I'll just keep pushing my body to run faster."

The 400 requires patience, strong finishing speed, but above all, consistency in the single lap around the track.

Kikaya understands this.

"I think I'm slowly beginning to master the 400," he said. " . . . Equal distribution of energy throughout the race, that's the key. And that's what I'm trying to master."

* * * * *

INSPIRING LITERATURE: Mexico's Ana Guevara, who hails from the northern state of Sonora, lists Korean writer Kim Wo Chong's work "World Belongs To You, But You Have To Gain It" as her favorite book.

Guevara won the silver medal in the 400 at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.

* * * * *

NAME OF THE DAY: Harmon Harmon. He is The Cook Islands record-holder in the triple jump and long jump.

Harmon competed in the 200-meter qualifying on Tuesday.

* * * * *

A CHAMPION'S OUTLOOK: "To me, being the defending champion doesn't mean anything. All the counters have been reset since Helsinki in 2005. . . . No one can feel safe, especially in hurdle races. It is first an individual race and then a race against the others. . . . The 110 hurdles is a complex event and that's what makes it beautiful," said France's Ladji Doucoure, the reigning men's world champion.

* * * * *

THE LAST WORD: "In order to survive, we must develop functional products; otherwise, we will disappear," said Masato Mizuno, Mizuno's chairman of the board, summarizing his company's philosophy during a media tour at the company's Osaka headquarters on Tuesday afternoon.