National sprints coach Stephen Mwaniki believes the Betika BingwaFest at Nakuru’s Afraha Stadium provided the perfect dress rehearsal for Kenya’s relay hopefuls ahead of next month’s World Championships in Tokyo.
Kenya will field three squads in the global showpiece: the men’s 4x100m, men’s 4x400m and the 4x400m mixed relay.
Africa’s fastest man, Ferdinand Omanyala, headlines the men’s 4x100m cast alongside former national champion Mark Otieno, Meshack Babu, Steve Odhiambo, Dennis Mwai, Clinton Aluvi and Isaac Omurwa.
The men’s 4x400m line-up features Allan Kipyego, Boniface Mweresa, Zablon Ekwam, Dennis Masika, David Sanayek and Kelvin Kiprotich, who will also double up in the mixed relay.
On the women’s side, Esther Mbagari, Mercy Chebet and Lanoline Aoko form part of the mixed relay quartet. In Nakuru, the team of Kelvin Kipkorir, Justine Isaboke, Zablon Ekwam and Brian Tinega stormed to victory in the men’s 4x100m, stopping the clock at 39.3.
Omurwa, Babu, Mweresa and Odhiambo followed in 39.5, while Mwai, Wiseman Were, Hesborn Ochieng and Charles Nyameha settled for third in 39.8. In the women’s race, Mbagari anchored Doreen Waka, Valerine Njiru and Chebet to the tape in 46.8.
Gladys Jepkemoi, Sarah Bosibori, Jane Ndirangu and Loyce Nyanchoka clocked 47.6 for second place. Mwaniki reckons the Nakuru meet offered a crucial chance to sharpen exchanges and assess team chemistry.
The seasoned tactician hailed the meet as a vital barometer ahead of Tokyo. “It was a good buildup for us towards the World Championship in Tokyo. BingwaFest was a very good event for us," Mwaniki said.
"As a technical bench, we were able to look at their performance and be able to single out things to rectify ahead of the championship as we continue with our training,” he added.
Meanwhile, Maurine Chebor dominated both the 5,000m (32:22.1) and 10,000m (15:40.8) women's events in Nakuru.
In the men’s 10,000m race, Tokyo-based Richard Etir won in 28:19.5 ahead of Kevin Chesang (28:25.2) and Ronald Kipkoech (28:27.7). Chebor and Etir took home Sh300,000 as Chebet and Chesang won Sh250,000, with Chepchirchir and Kipkoech pocketing Sh200,000.
