Prisons’ top stars lock horns in search of honour
Timothy Kiptoo celebrates winning a past race. He will be one of the star attractions at the Prisons Athletics Championships at Nyayo Stadium on June 19 and 20. PHOTO | FILE |
What you need to know:
- Kiptoo, Kiplagat, Cheseba all lined up to run at Nyayo Stadium
- Kenya 400m champion Maureen Jelagat, whose dream of taking part in her first Diamond League in Rome was nipped by an injury, is back and will compete in women’s 400m and 400m hurdles heats.
The 2012 Africa 5,000m bronze medallist Timothy Kiptoo faces upcoming Charles Cheruiyot on Friday in the men’s 10,000m final of the Kenya Prisons Services Athletics Championships that starts at the Nyayo National Stadium.
Silas Kiplagat, the 2011 World 1,500m silver medallist, who is fresh from winning in Shanghai, and Commonwealth 1,500m silver medallist Ronald Kwemoi have been put in separate men’s 1,500m heats.
The two-day championships will also see former Kenya 100m champion Ibrahim Muya making a comeback after tearing his right knee ligaments at the 2013 nationals.
Twenty-twelve African 800m silver medallist Anthony Chemut, who represented Kenya at the 2012 London Olympics and 2013 Moscow World championships, will do battle in the two-lap race heats.
The 2011 Africa Games 800m bronze medallist Sylvia Chesebe, who won silver in medley race at the 2015 World Relay, is the star attraction in women’s 800m heats.
JELAGAT RETURNS
Kenya 400m champion Maureen Jelagat, whose dream of taking part in her first Diamond League in Rome was nipped by an injury, is back and will compete in women’s 400m and 400m hurdles heats.
“We expect good performances noting that we are heading for the national championships as well as World Championships trials,” said Prisons coach Gedion Chirchir.
It will be interesting to see how Kiptoo, the 2012 national Cross country Series winner, and Cheruiyot will handle the field in men’s 25-lap race final.
Kiptoo set a personal best of 13:33.51 but finished fifth in 5,000m at the nationals last year. In his recent outing at the Paris Half Marathon on March 8, he ran his personal best 1:01:41 to settle for fifth in a race won by compatriot Vincent Yator in 1:00:02.
Cheruiyot won bronze medal in 10,000m at the national last year and went on to represent Kenya at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow where he finished fifth in a personal best time of 27:59.91.
Also in the race are Paris Marathon champion Mark Korir, who has been drafted in the Kenya marathon team for the World Championships and 2007 World marathon champion Luke Kibet.
Kiplagat is favourite to make it through his 1,500m heat, having won the Shanghai Diamond League race in world lead time of 3:35.29.
