Nyairera, Kiprop set for National Championships

Olympic 800m bronze medallist Margaret Nyairera and World 1,500m champion Asbel Kiprop will highlight the National Athletics Championships starting on Thursday at Nyayo National Stadium.

Nyairera, who won the 400m title at last year's Nationals, will compete in her 800m specialty this time round as she leads the Kenya Prisons Service team.

Nyairera, who has been training at Nyayo Stadium since arriving from USA where she finished second in 800m at the Prefontaine Classic, said she opted to change from 400m to 800m to avoid burnout.

Kiprop, who last competed at the nationals in 2015 where he won the 800m title, leads his Kenya Police Service team. He will also compete in the 4x400m relays.

TO COMPETE IN OSLO

After the nationals, Nyairera intends to compete at the Oslo Diamond League on June 15 before returning for the World Championships trials on June 23-24 at Nyayo Stadium.

“The 800m will probably have one or two heats before the final hence no pressure while the 400m has many heats,” said Nyairera, the World Indoor 800m bronze medallist, who will also compete in the 4x400m and 4x100m relays for Prisons.

Nyairera, who is also the Africa 400m silver medallist, said that she wants to be in great shape before the London World Championships due August 4-13.

“My endurance is superb and the short races are part of my speed work. I have realised that I run out of gas in the last 200m,” said Nyairera, who finished second behind Olympic and World champion Caster Semenya in Doha and Eugene.

“I started by preparations in February and I think things could have been different if I started much earlier in December,” said Nyairera.

Also in the Prisons team for the nationals are the 400m hurdles national champion Maureen Jelagat, who has just arrived from Germany, and Africa and All Africa Games 10,000m champion Alice Aprot, who is also the World Cross Country silver medallist.

World Under-20 1,500m champion Kumari Taki will battle it out for Prisons in 800m while Africa 5,000m silver medallist Wilfred Kimitei will compete in his specialty.

Kiprop will lead said he has fully recovered after a bout of flu that saw him finish a distant seventh at Prefontaine Classic on May 27.

“I took some strong antibiotic on the eve of the race and the morning which really weakened my body,” said Kiprop. “But I am okay now and ready for the national championships.”

Also in Police team are national 400m hurdles champion Haron Koech and his brother Nicholas Bett, who the reigning World 400m hurdles champion.