AK leadership, led by President Lt. Gen. (Rtd) Jackson Tuwei. /AK/XAthletics Kenya (AK) has announced that this year’s Prefontaine Classic Diamond League will serve as the selection event for the men’s 10,000m and women’s 5000m teams set to represent the country at the upcoming World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan.
The 2025 World Athletics Championships are scheduled to take place from September 13 to 21 in Tokyo, at the Japan National Stadium—a venue rebuilt for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
It will be the third time Japan hosts the World Athletics Championships, following previous editions in Tokyo in 1991 and Osaka in 2007.
The prestigious event will feature 49 competitions and is expected to bring together more than 2,000 athletes from about 200 countries.
The highly anticipated Kenyan trials will take place on July 5 at Hayward Field, University of Oregon, in the United States.
Meanwhile, selection for the men’s 5000m and women’s 10,000m teams will be conducted during the Trials for World Athletics Championships in Nairobi, ensuring that Kenya fields its strongest possible squad for Tokyo.
Kenya’s connection with the Prefontaine Classic runs deep.
The venue is no stranger to Kenyan athletics history, having witnessed some of the nation’s most memorable performances on the global stage.
In 2011, Moses Mosop made headlines by becoming a double world record holder at the event, clocking 1:12:25.4 in the men’s 25,000m and 1:26:47.4 in the men’s 30,000m.
More recently, at last year’s edition, Beatrice Chebet set a new world record of 28:54.14 in the women’s 10,000m, earning her a place at the Paris Olympics, where she went on to claim gold in both the 10,000m and 5000m.
Lilian Kasait and Margaret Chelimo, who finished third and fourth, respectively, in that race, also secured their spots on the Olympic team.
“It is on the backdrop of these outstanding exploits that we are convinced that this year’s national trials for the two disciplines will be equally competitive, thus producing a final team of world-class athletes capable of sweeping the podium in Tokyo,” AK said in a statement.
Athletics Kenya expressed gratitude to the Prefontaine Classic organizing committee for providing a competitive environment and world-class facilities for the trials.
The federation is confident that the event will once again showcase Kenya’s depth of talent and produce a formidable team for the World Championships.
