Three 800m stars withdraw from AK National Championships
What you need to know:
- The Championships will be used to select the national team for Africa Senior Athletics Championships due August 1-5 in Assaba, Nigeria.
A right leg hamstring injury has forced Commonwealth 800m champion Wycliffe Kinyamal to withdraw from Athletics Kenya National Championships starting Thursday at Kasarani.
The Championships will be used to select the national team for Africa Senior Athletics Championships due August 1-5 in Assaba, Nigeria.
Kinyamal said he sustained the injury during the Rome leg of the Diamond League.
Kinyamal followed up his victory at Gold Coast Commonwealth Games with a personal best and meet record time of 1:43.91 on his Diamond League debut in Shanghai on May 12 before winning in Rome in 1:44.65 on May 31.
"I sustained the injury in Rome and my doctor told me not to compete for three weeks. I just resumed training Thursday last week," said Kinyamal, who had to also withdraw from Stockholm Diamond League on June 10. "I can only hope for a wild card from Athletics Kenya. I will have regained form by the time the Africa Championships is starting," said Kinyamal.
It is not only Kinyamal who has withdrawn from the Nationals. United States-based 800m stars Emmanuel Korir and Michael Saruni will also not feature at the trials. Korir won in Doha in 1:45.21.
However, Saruni holds the fastest time this season of 1:43.25 set on April 28 at Tucson Meet in Arizona, USA.
