Kirwa sets sight on African Championship qualifying mark at police meet

National triple jump champion and Police Service (NPS) record holder Isaac Kirwa will be in action on Thursday and Friday at this year's police meet at Kasarani where he is aiming to hit qualifying marks for various upcoming championships. 

After competing at the Kisumu and Mumias legs of the Athletics Kenya (AK) track and field meets earlier in the year, Kirwa moved his training to Nairobi where he has access to a synthetic track in preparation for the police and national championships.

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The Kiganjo Training School-based athlete says he has had month-long training at Nyayo Stadium that has helped him get his speed up and perfected his takeoff. 

"At the beginning of the year, I was doing my loading and had not put emphasis on speed and technique. In the last month, however, I have perfected my speed on a synthetic runway which requires a slightly different approach to running on murram," offered Kirwa 

With the qualifying standards for the upcoming Senior African Athletics Championships in the triple jump and long jump set at 16.00 m and 7.80 m respectively, the athlete has his work cut out. 

"I am looking to hit the qualifying marks at the police event as that will leave me with the battle to finish in the top two during the national championship which doubles as the trials for the African event. The top two finishers get an automatic slot while the third slot is left for a panel of selectors," explained Kirwa. 

The African championships will be held from 8 to 12 June at the Côte d'Or National Sports Complex in the city of Reduit, Mauritius.

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AK will hold the national championship cum trial from 28 to 30 April at Kasarani Stadium. The qualifying period is from 1 January 2021 to 30 April 2022. 

"We had a few competitions last year as I attempted to qualify for the Olympics but I did not hit the mark. With a 16.39 PB in triple jump and 7.81 in long jump, I believe I have what it takes to hit the marks," he added. 

AK has maintained that for athletes to make Team Kenya to any championship, they must have attained the entry standards set by organisers, in this case, CAA. They also must have met all the antidoping requirements and finish in the top two at the trials for an automatic slot as the third athlete will be selected by a panel of selectors.