Race to London hots up at Nyayo

The Athletics Kenya (AK) Sprints, Field and Medley Relays championships get under way Wednesday at Nyayo National Stadium.

National sprints head coach Stephen Mwaniki said Monday AK will use the event to assess and monitor athletes ahead of the Weekend Meetings.

“We want to try and refine them so as to qualify more numbers to the London Olympic Games,” he said.

Mwaniki noted that instead of the usual six tries in the field events, athletes will go for eight with a view of cultivating endurance among the athletes.
More interesting.

All the field events – including shot put, discus, javelin, hammer, pole vault, high jump, long jump and triple jump – will take place.

The sprints events, which feature sprints, relays, and hurdling, will however be more interesting. The hurdles will have women’s 60 metres and men’s 80m races as well as the men’s and women’s 200m.

Also on the card are the men’s and women’s 150m and 300m flat, as well as the men’s and women’s 4x800m and 4x200m medley relays, the most populous among the races.

Another pulsating contest is the men’s and women’s 200m, 100m, 100m, 400m medley relays.

The second championship will be held at the same venue on February 25, ahead of the start of the seven AK Weekend Meetings on March 9-11 in Kisumu.

Surpassed the qualifying mark

Vincent Kiplangat Kosgei is the only Kenyan who has qualified for the London Games in 400m, having surpassed the qualifying mark of 49.50 seconds.

Kosgei clocked 49:49 in the heats during the 2011 World Championships on his way to the semi-final.

The 4x400m team of Vincent Kiplangat Kosgei, Anderson Mureta Mutegi, Vincent Mumo Kiilu and Mark Mutai is also set for London after setting the 13th fastest time in the world at the 2011 Worlds.

The first 16 teams with the fastest times in the world ranking will qualify for the July-August Olympics, which puts Kenya in a superior position.