The Standard (Kenya)
By Gilbert Wandera
For many years, Kenya’s dominance in athletics has been confined to middle and long distance races.
However, this could soon change, going by the recent performance in the World Youth Championships held in Lille, France, where Alphas Leken Kishoyian won silver in the men’s 400m event.
Ahead of this week’s national trials for the World Championships in Daegu, national assistant coach Stephen Mwaniki says he expects a good performance in the sprints this year.
“I am excited by what our boys and girls did in France, winning medals in sprints. It shows that we are catching up in the sprints which should be able to add to our medal haul,” he told FeverPitch.
“The young men and women who ran well in France are the future of this country. They are the ones we will call upon in 2012 and 2013,” he added.
Good results
Turning to this week’s national trials at Nyayo Stadium, Mwaniki predicted that they will see some good results in sprints.
“So far, we have five athletes who have run 60 seconds in the 400m hurdles. These are all medal prospects in South Korea,” said Mwaniki.
The Kenyan 4X400m team has already qualified for the world championships after attaining the qualifying mark last year.
Focus will no less still be on the middle and long distance events during the trials which start on Thursday.
Nancy Chebet Lagat, the women 1,500m Olympic champion, will be the main attraction, while Asbel Kiprop, the men’s Olympic champion also in 1,500m, will be facing stiff competition from the likes of Silas Kiplagat.
Fight for a place
The African champion in the men 10,000m event Wilson Kiprop, is another top name expected to line up at Nyayo Stadium to fight for a place in the Kenyan team.
“Looking at the names that are coming from the provinces, we expect an extremely competitive trial with young and up-coming athletes determined to overcome the veterans,” predicted Mwaniki.
Elsewhere, Yusuf Kibet Biwott finished runner-up in the men’s 3,000m steeple-chase during the IAAF Madrid Challenge on Sunday.
The race was won by home boy Sergio Sanchez who finished in 7:49.45. Biwott’s time was 7:49.80. Uganda’s Geofrey Kusuro finished fifth in 7:52.50 in a race dominated by European runners.
Ethiopia’s Tizito Bogale finished third in the 1,500m won by Spaniard Nuria Fernandez who clocked 4:06.00. There were no Kenyan women in this race with most of them opting to concentrate on this week’s national trials at home.