NAIROBI, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's Philemon Rono is dreaming of representing Kenya at the 2019 World Championships in Qatar when he lines up to compete at the Toronto marathon on Sunday.

Rono, 27, set a Canadian all-comers' record of 2:06:52 when he successfully defended his Toronto Marathon title a year ago.

He returns on Sunday in search of a hat trick victories in a bid to seal his spot in the Kenya team to Doha, next year for the World Championships.

"I always want to run for Kenya," he said on Saturday. "But competitions for tickets to World Championships are stiff and I believe when I win in Toronto, Kenyan selectors will look my way and offer me a chance to live the dream."