Cherono and Asbel line up for Bondo meet
Kenya's Asbel Kiprop celebrates winning the final of the men's 1500 metres athletics event at the 2015 IAAF World Championships at the "Bird's Nest" National Stadium in Beijing on August 30, 2015. Kiprop, the three-time world 1,500m champion Asbel Kiprop and 2013 world 5,000m gold medallist Mercy Cherono are among star runners on parade at the Athletics Kenya track and field meeting in Bondo on Friday. PHOTO | OLIVIER MORIN |
What you need to know:
- Three-time world 1,500m champion Asbel Kiprop and 2013 world 5,000m gold medallist Mercy Cherono are among star runners on parade at the Athletics Kenya track and field meeting in Bondo on Friday.
- The two-day championships to be held at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology is the first track and field event this year.
- AK Nyanza North chairman Joseph Ochieng said youth races would also be included as part of the preparations for the 2017 World Under-18 Championships to be held in Nairobi.
Three-time world 1,500m champion Asbel Kiprop and 2013 world 5,000m gold medallist Mercy Cherono are among star runners on parade at the Athletics Kenya track and field meeting in Bondo on Friday.
The two-day championships to be held at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology is the first track and field event this year.
AK Nyanza North chairman Joseph Ochieng said youth races would also be included as part of the preparations for the 2017 World Under-18 Championships to be held in Nairobi.
“We have to work hard because the youth did their best in Colombia last year. We can’t afford to be beaten at home,” he told Daily Nation Sports on Thursday.
Nyanza North public relations officer Jared Gilo said they are ready for the weekend meeting and urged athletes to turn up in large numbers.
He said the top three winners in every category would receive cash awards.
“This event is important in the AK calendar, considering that this is an Olympics year.
This is why we calling on as many athletes as possible to participate,” he added.
REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Gilo said they would use the competition to identify talents for the regional championships.
He said there are plans of starting a training camp for sprinters and throwers.
“We are also talking to the county governments of Kisumu, Homa Bay and Siaya to join hands with us so as to develop athletics,” said Gilo.
He urged school and college heads within the region to release their students for the championships.
The Bondo event has also attracted a number of elite athletes from the Kenya Defence Forces, Kenya Police Service, Prisons and various universities.
The presence of Kiprop, who won the world 1,500 title in 2011, 2013 and 2015 as well as Cherono, the two-time world junior 3,000 champion in 2008 and 2010 is a boost to the event.
