S. GitahiAthletics Kenya omit 4x100m relay team ahead of the World Athletics Championships
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Reading Time: 2min | Wed. 09.08.23. | 16:32
Imeta won the 2nd AK meeting behind Commonwealth Games gold medalist Ferdinand Omanyala in a time of 9.94
Despite hitting the qualifying time for the upcoming World Athletics Championships slated for August 19-27 in Budapest, Hungary, everything is now pointing towards the direction of Kenya’s 4x100m men’s relay team missing out on the global event after all.
The development comes after Athletics Kenya - the governing body for the sport of athletics (track and field) in Kenya - failed to enter the team in the group of athletes set to represent the country in nine days time.
Speaking to Nation Sport, AK President Jackson Tuwei confirmed the omission but cleared out the fact that World Athletics had indeed invited the relay team - which is eligible to compete in Budapest having ranked 14th in the world rankings as by the July 30 set deadline.
The main reason for the step-back to include the team, as per Tuwei, was ‘to avoid complications’, emanating from the fact that one of the team members - Samuel Imeta, was on 3 June provisionally suspended by the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya for various doping violations.
🇰🇪 Samuel Imeta has been provisionally suspended by ADAK for doping after testing positive for Anabolic Androgenic Steroids, along with 8 other athletes from Kenya.
— Athletics Hour (@AthleticsHour) June 3, 2023
He tested positive at the meet where he broke 10 seconds when he ran 9.94s, although it wasn't ratified. pic.twitter.com/2exI4Z5sQq
“We just couldn’t risk, hence opting not to enter a team in that event,” Tuwei told said on the development.
Imeta, Ferdinand Omanyala, Boniface Mweresa and Hesbon Ochieng had on 29 April clocked a qualifying time of 38.36 - that saw them move into 12th position in the world rankings - when they went on to win the 4x100m Botswana Golden Grand Prix.
With Imeta’s suspension however, Athletics Kenya, had opted to go with the group of Omanyala, Mweresa, Ochieng, Samuel Chege, Steve Onyango and Dan Kiviasi as the team to represent the nation later this month.
Imeta tested positive for Anabolic Androgenic Steroids during the second Athletics Kenya Track meeting held on 24 February at the Nyayo National Stadium.
With the omission, Kenya’s relays will only include the men’s and mixed 4x400 teams. Representing the men’s team will be Wiseman Were, Zablon Ekwam, Wycliffe Kinyamal, Kelvin Sawe, Kennedy Musyoki and Alex Ng’eno.
The mixed relays team will have Ekwam, Musyoki, Maureen Thomas, Mercy Oketch and Millicent Ndoro.
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