Eight dropped as Worlds team for London is named

What you need to know:

  • Haron Koech and Elijah Kimitei, who were Kenya’s sole representatives in 400m hurdles and triple jump respectively, have been dropped from Team Kenya for the World Championships due August 4-13 in London.
  • Also to be dropped were the 4x400m women’s relay team for Jacinta Shikanda, Veronica Mutua and Maureen Jelagat and the men’s 4x400m relays team after they fell in ranking by the time of final entry on Monday.
  • The only athlete, who was affected in 4x400m men is former national 400m champion Alphas Kishoyian.

Haron Koech and Elijah Kimitei, who were Kenya’s sole representatives in 400m hurdles and triple jump respectively, have been dropped from Team Kenya for the World Championships due August 4-13 in London.

Also to be dropped were the 4x400m women’s relay team for Jacinta Shikanda, Veronica Mutua and Maureen Jelagat and the men’s 4x400m relays team after they fell in ranking by the time of final entry on Monday.

The only athlete, who was affected in 4x400m men is former national 400m champion Alphas Kishoyian.

A total of eight athletes have been left out including the World 400m hurdles champion Nicholas Bett, who has been knocked out by an injury.

While naming a team of 49 athletes on Friday, Athletics Kenya President Jackson Tuwei also sought to clarify the fate of the 800m runner Michael Saruni, who was left out on Monday during the final entry.

Tuwei said the technical bench unanimously agreed to drop Saruni, who had left the camp for almost a week permission on poor form.

Tuwei disclosed that Koech and Kimitei have been left out after the system failed to capture their names after the final day of entries on Monday.

The AK boss said efforts to raise the issue with the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) proved futile after the competition rejected their appeal.

“They said there is nothing they could do after the system failed to capture their names. We shall still follow the matter up since these athletes qualified,” said Tuwei. “Furthermore, Koech is currently ranked 35 in the world yet they have taken 40 athletes for the hurdles.”