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L. MathekaAK set to decide on Olympics trials venue
Reading Time: 2min | Sun. 16.05.21. | 11:13
Kasarani is being prepared to host the World U-20 championship while renovations at the Kip Keino stadium are still ongoing.
With the Tokyo 2020 Olympics fast approaching, Athletics Kenya is set to decide on whether the Olympics trials will be held in Nairobi or Eldoret. The final decision will be announced on Tuesday, 18 May.
The trials are scheduled for June 17 to 19, just a month away from the Games set to begin on July 23 in Tokyo.
Yesterday I joined @athletics_kenya President Lt Gen (Rtd) Jackson Tuwei and the entire technical team from the federation in an inspection tour at the Kipchoge Keino Stadium, Eldoret. pic.twitter.com/vrsMuwuvfF
— BARNABA KORIR OFFICIAL (@KorirOfficial) May 16, 2021
The federation on Saturday, toured the Kipchoge Keino Stadium in Eldoret to access the facility's ability to hold the trails. AK had previously announced that the trials for the 2020 Olympics would be held in Eldoret, just like the Rio Olympics trials. The Rio Olympics trials were the first to be held in Eldoret.
AK's tour comes days after the federation announced that they would hold trials for the Africa Senior Championships on May 27-29 despite the uncertainties surrounding the event owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. The May event, set for Nyayo, will double up as a pre-trial to the Olympics.
Big thanks to @athletics_kenya officials for coming and addressing the athletes at Kipchoge Stadium during their visit to the facility to see if it’s suitable to host Kenya’s Olympic Team Trials. Thank you @KorirOfficial and Patrick Sang ???????? pic.twitter.com/jftb9edVUI
— Edward Kemboi (@Ed_On_Track) May 15, 2021
The continental event set for Algiers, Algeria has now been postponed twice having initially been planned for June 1-5 before it was moved to June 24-28 and later postponed indefinitely.
"Our focus was the track, the pitch for field events, lavatories, changing rooms, warm-up track, electricity and water availability. We will sit as a committee and deliberate on this before making the final decision known on Tuesday," AK boss, Jack Tuwei, told journalists in Uasin Gishu during the tour.
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Rio Olympics AK trials in Eldoret (© Courtesy)With Kasarani being prepared to host the World Under-20 Athletics Championships, AK is likely to hold their trials in the same venue as it would help gauge the facility's preparedness for the junior event that will gun off a week after the Summer Games.
Tuwei further revealed that more than 90 athletes have qualified for the Olympic Games and the trials will be an invite-only affair.
"Athletes who will be representing the country at the Games must have been tested four times by the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (Adak) and the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) before the trials," he added.
