Athletics Kenya will only field 30 athletes during the African Games slated for March 8-23 in Accra, Ghana, owing to financial constraints.
The trials for the African Games are slated for Tuesday and Wednesday at the Nyayo Stadium.
Speaking at a press briefing at Riadha House on Thursday, AK Vice President Paul Mutwi said they have been allocated just 30 slots for athletes and five for team management by the Kenya National Sports Council.
“KNSC has given the federation just 30 slots. This is due to budgetary constraints. The team will be accompanied by five officials,” Mutwi stated.
AK have also revealed the criteria for selecting the team of 30 where only the top athlete in each category will be picked.
The trials will be by invitation only based on the athletes' performance in their respective specialties during competitions organised by AK and other international bodies.
"We have had weekend meets and our athletes have also featured in various international events,” he stated.
All invited athletes will be required to collect their running numbers, in person, on Monday (9 am-6 pm) at the Nyayo Stadium, failure to which they will locked out of the trials.
Meanwhile, Mutwii said they will lock out athletes who will feature at Saturday's national cross country championships/trials at the Prisons Staff Training College, Ruiru.
Instead, observed treasurer David Miano, they will be considered in future events, now that 2024 is a busy athletics year.
“We have other trials coming including the Africa Senior Championships in June. This is a very busy year so any athlete not selected will still get a chance to represent the country,” said Miano.
At PSTC on Saturday, Mutwii added, the federation will select a team to represent the country at the World Cross Country Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, on March 30.
The top six athletes in each category (U-20, senior races and mixed relay) will book a ticket to Belgrade.
The organisers will on Friday host an anti-doping seminar as well as tree planting to mitigate climate change.
Miano called on fans to turn up in large numbers to cheer their favouraite athletes.
He expects another flawless selection as they select a team good enough to defend the overall world title they won in Bathurst, Australia, last year.
“We have never gotten it wrong when it comes to cross country. Last year in Australia, we got it right all the way. We also got it right at the Africa cross country," said Miano.
