by Justin Lagat
Ronald Kwemoi, photo by PhotoRun.net
The Kenyan Trials are going on as I write this. Justin Lagat’s piece on what could happen there, and just how good the Kenyan team could be for London was too much for our readers to miss! Watch for results later tonight!
There is a lot of anticipation among athletic fans with two days remaining to Kenya’s national trials for the London World Championships. Kenya’s is one of the most competitive track and field trials in the world and the outcome here will paint a clear picture of what we are likely to witness in London. After all, Kenya was on top of the world in the Athletics events in 2015 having won a total of 16 medals; 7 gold, 6 silver and 3 bronze medals.
Beijing ‘s world defending champions from Kenya include Julius Yego, men Javelin throw; Nicholas Bett, men 400m H; David Rudisha, men 800m; Asbel Kiprop, men 1500m; Hyvin Kiyeng, women 3000m steeple chase; Ezekiel Kemboi, men 3000m steeple chase and Vivian Cheruiyot, women 10,000m. However, Cheruiyot has since moved to the marathon and will not be defending her 10,000m title in London. The rest will be up against the ever competitive field during the national trials in Kenya with new stars expected to disappoint some of the big names.
Two events have more than one athlete qualifying for a wild card to the world championships. Conseslus Kipruto qualifies as the 2016 Diamond League winner in the men’s 3000m steeple chase and joins Kemboi, the defending champion. Ferguson Rotich is also the 2016 Diamond League winner and joins Rudisha who is the defending champion. It shows Kenya’s dominance in the middle distance events, but may give the Kenyan selectors a hard time in choosing the best team to represent the country.
This time round, the selection criteria will be very strict and only the first three athletes to cross the finish line will make the team.
Of interest will be Ronald Kwemoi moving up to the 10,000m event as his name appears on the start list for the event. Kwemoi is known more in the 1500m event, but besides winning the Bowerman mile race at the Prefontaine Classic diamond league, he also won the 3000m event at the Doha diamond league meeting in May showcasing his range in the events he can do. He has a personal best time of 27:33.94 in the 10,000m event which he recorded last year.
In 2015, Ezekiel Kemboi led Kenyans to a 1-2-3 finish at the last world championships in the men’s 3000m steeple chase event. Kenyan fans will be eager to see who will join him and Conseslus Kipruto to make the team this time round and whether their team will be strong enough to repeat the same performance in London.
Despite the asence of Vivian Cheruiyot in the women 5000m event, Kenyans have higher hopes in Hellen Obiri to bring home the gold medal in London. Obiri currently has the world leading time of 14:18.37 over the distance.
As the event draws nearer, it is expected that the results of the trials will contain some surprises and disappointments. Last year, both Geoffrey Kamworor and Bedan Karoki failed to finish the 10,000m race at the Olympic trials in Eldoret, but officials examined their cases and decided to include them in the final team. This time round, there will be no room for errors.
