D-Day for Kenyan athletes in 'mini-world championships

Battle for men’s 10,000m tickets to the World Championships set for 19 to 27 August in Budapest, Hungary will get Athletics Kenya (AK) trials at Nyayo Stadium underway on Friday 7 July.

Former world half marathon record holder and national champion in the distance Kibiwott Kandie headlines a list of 19 men that will look to bag the three tickets available for Kenya.

The 27:20.34 runner in the distance will be joined by among others Commonwealth Games silver medalist Daniel Simiu, who in a recent interview hinted at sticking to the longer distance for the global championship. He is eligible to race in 5000m too.

Crème de la crème of Kenya’s Athletics set to clash for World Championship slots

Also, on the star-studded 10,000m field is Diamond League reigning 5000m champion Nicholas Kimeli who is entered in both races and it remains to be seen whether he competes in the trials’ opener.

Reigning world silver medalist Jacob Krop is also on the start list for 10,000m as is 2021 world U20 5000m champion Benson Kiplagat among other top runners.

The race will, however, miss reigning 10,000m world silver medalist Stanley Waithaka Mburu who is reported to have sustained an injury that will see him miss the trials. In last year’s championship held in Oregon, Mburu clocked 27:27.90 to finish second behind Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei.

“My hope was to finally win Kenya this title after I fell short last year to settle for silver. All has been well until last week, it is so disappointing and heartbreaking to sustain an injury when it’s only a few weeks away from the world event. I am in Nairobi right now with the doctor who is trying to assess the extent of the injury,” Mburu told Daily Nation.

The 23-year-old could still get his opportunity to feature in the global competition if his injury can be resolved in time for the championships and the panel of selectors elect to name him as the third athlete in the distance.

The first two athletes to cross the finish line will automatically be selected provided they have qualified as per the World athletics Entry Standards. The selection of the third athlete where necessary is subject to the decision of the selection panel.

Kenya hunt for gold in the 10,000m at the championship has been elusive since Charles Kamathi won it at the 2001 edition in Edmonton, Canada.

The first day will also witness six other finals including the women’s 5000m where Diamond League and Commonwealth Games Champion Beatrice Chebet was expected to headline but has elected to feature in 1500m. She has a wild card in 5000m.

Women’s Javelin, 400m women, 200m men and women and 4x400m mixed relays are the other finals expected on the first day of action.