The Kenyan relay teams have set themselves a top-eight finish at the World Championships set for later this month in Budapest, Hungary.
The 4x 400m and 4x 400m mixed relay team qualified for the August 19-27 games after ranking 16th in both categories at the conclusion of the World Athletics qualification window on July 30.
Making it to the final in Budapest will guarantee the teams slots at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Speaking on Wednesday, head coach Julius Kirwa said: "Our goal is to be in the final. If we do that, our ticket to Paris will be sorted. The athletes know what is at stake at the World Championships. A medal in either of the events will be a bonus."
Kirwa said despite the stiff competition expected from the usual powerhouses, such as world champions United States, silver medalists Jamaica and Botswana among others, he is confident the team will be competitive.
"Our team bagged a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games last year and we need to build on that this year, at a bigger event. The athletes have trained hard for it,” noted Kirwa.
Kirwa said they will focus on the rules of the games especially lane infringement, which has been a problem at major events.
The mixed relay team of Commonwealth Games 800m champions Mary Moraa and Wycliffe Kinyamal, Boniface Mweresa and Naomi Korir were over the weekend disqualified on technicalities at the True Athletes Classic Meeting in Germany.
The quartet was ruled out of the race after breaching the Technical Rule (TR) 24.19 for beginning the race outside the takeover zones.
The mixed relay team posted 3:14.61 during the national championships in June.
The long-serving coach said they must, at all costs, avoid such blunders in Budapest.
“It's something the coaches will be working on. We have to avoid such a scenario at a championship — from the heats all the way to the finals,” added Kirwa.
The men’s 4x400m qualified for the Championships after the Kenya Police quartet posted 3:02.02 at the national championships in June to take Kenya to position 16 in the world.
The team consists of Kinyamal, Kennedy Kimeu, Zablon Ekwam and Kelvin Sawe.
In Birmingham last year, Wiseman Were, Mike Mokamba, William Raiyan and Boniface Mweresa clocked 3:02.41 to bag the bronze medal behind Trinidad and Tobago (3:01.29) and Botswana (3:01.85).
